15 October 2007
Over a thousand schoolchildren in Delmas, Mpumalanga province and
surrounding areas observed the International Disaster Risk Reduction Day on
Saturday, 13 October 2007.
At a colourful event, children performed traditional and modern dance, sang
and played games to mark the International Day while educating each other and
their parents about the ways to deal with disasters when they occur.
During this month young people will have been celebrating the commitment of
communities and government to implementing the International Strategy for
Disaster Reduction (ISDR), as well as dramatising the resilience of communities
throughout the month of October. Attending the event was: senior managers in
government both nationally and provincially, officials from Gauteng and Limpopo
province as well as the National Weather Service.
This year's event focused mainly on children as they are one of the groups
most vulnerable to disasters. More than 10 000 schools were destroyed in
Pakistan during the 2005 earthquake and many others by this year's Hurricane
Felix in the Caribbean, and by the recent floods in Uganda. In South Africa
children are affected by disasters when crossing rivers to get to school, and
are threatened by fragile school infrastructure succumbing to floods and
storms.
Approximately 34 million children worldwide are attending school in areas
threatened by earthquake risk. Millions of other children are threatened by
volcanoes, hurricanes, drought, wildfires, storms and floods. The learners
internationally will mark the day with such activities as music, drama, role
plays and art exhibitions, aimed at highlighting the theme of the day 'Disaster
Risk Reduction Begins at School.'
The ISDR week is observed annually during the second week of October
worldwide, to mark the world's commitment to reducing disaster risk and to
ensuring that all communities are resilient to disasters.
Issued by: Department of Provincial and Local Government
15 October 2007
Source: Department of Provincial and Local Government (http://www.dplg.gov.za)
