Joyce Umbima Consultant 10 /11/ 2009

This paper addresses four main areas Uganda and all East African

Commonwealth countries should investment in in order to achieve impact results

in their implementation of the Hyogo Framework for Action, third priority which

states that,” governments must use knowledge, innovation and education

to build a culture of safety and resilience at all levels.”

The four areas are -

policy and legal framework for the protection of children and enforcement of

those policies safe guard the rights of children

Inclusion of DRR in primary and secondary school curricula including teacher

training colleges

Empowerment of children through information and education

The presentation concludes with highlights from success stories and further

recommendations for moving forward in safeguarding the rights of children in the

face of DRR management.

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Climate change related disasters have increased in the last 3 decades in Africa with children being the HARDEST HIT

Flooding and drought are more common in Uganda and most of Countries in East Africa.

Other are fires , civil unrest , road related accidents and earthquake

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As African, a home without Children is not home

Your status in the community is reflected on how

well you have educated and raised your children

If you want the social economic status of any

country, look at the quality of life of its children.

Children are our present and future

Children are part of the community

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Schools are the best venue for sowing collective values

nationhood, humanity, global citizenship and good

governance, leadership, democracy, gender sensitivity, human

rights etc

Schools are homes for children for three quarters of the year

Safer school concept promotes safety at school (making

school facilities- desks, classrooms, toilets, dinning rooms,

hostels, beds) including building safer schools for children.

Schools serve as community social meeting places,

Schools provide a good avenue for children’s empowerment

programmes

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The state is the primary duty bearer. The state carry’s out

it’s responsibilities through various arms of the government

such as:

Parliament (MPs are community representative/ policy makers/

governors )

Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Planning, Local

Government, Lands and Human Settlement, Works and Roads,

Home affairs, National Security, Health , Office the President, and

Education etc

The other duty bearers are parents/ guardians, extended

families and the school community

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All arms of government through parent ministries contribute to safety of

children through safer schools in one way of another. For example

construction of safer schools is not possible without sufficient funds from the

Treasury.

The parliament is responsible for passing laws and policies that guarantee

children enjoyment of their rights.

Safer schools also means having good access to roads to reach children as fast

as possible in case of danger e.g. fires. ( Access roads may fall under Ministry

of works or local government)

Ministry of Land and Human Settlement ensures human settlements do not

encroach major water catchment areas and that public institutions including

schools are not constructed in areas prone to disasters.

Safe guarding the rights of children through safer schools requires a multi-

displinary approach and collaborative responsibilities of several arms of

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Safeguarding the rights of the child requires:

1. Policy and legal intervention

2. Information dissemination to school communities on

Disaster Risk Reduction(DRR)

3. Inclusion of DRR in the teacher training and University

curriculum,

4. introduction of DRR a subject in primary and

secondary schools

5. Empowerment of children to advocate for their right to

safer schools and play an active role in disaster

mitigation and prevention8

1.1 Legal Protection of Children

Protection of children begins with development of legal

frameworks which take into account different needs before,

during and after disasters. Uganda has domesticated CRC

through the children Act but is this enough? Protection of children calls for the need to include rights of

children into the constitutional framework to grantee them

maximum protection ( Uganda makes reference to

Children and this gives you a higher moral obligation to

protect and natures children to achieve all their human

rights including education even in times of disasters)

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1.2 Budgetary Provision

Call for policy which set budgetary provision for

children to learn about DRR, practical measure

to take ,before, during and after disaster,

Funds to invest in knowledge transfer, ITC starting

at an early age,

Funds allocated to Ministries of Education to

train or retrain teachers on DRR

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1.3 Land use policy and regulation This requires sound land policies which clearly state who owns land

for construction of public schools, who determines the location on

which the school should be built and who enforces the regulations,

policies and bylaws relating to land use

Safer schools for children requires land policies which demarcate

disaster prone areas as unfit for public school construction and a

strict enforcement mechanism which goes beyond the ministries of

education.

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1.4 Enforcement of building regulations in construction of schools

The protection of children through safer schools looks at both safer and appropriate building materials that are resilient to the local hazards and have high quality of workmanship with provisions for well marked exit routes in case of emergencies.

Under the principle of safeguarding rights of the child, the emphasis is on the minimum safety measures to reduce, prevent and mitigate the impact of possible disasters such as fires, rainstorms, extreme, heat or cold, windstorm etc.

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1.4 Enforcement of building regulations in construction of schools

Uganda has, like many other countries in East Africa, have building Regulation/code, but our weakness lies in enforcement. What can we do to improve on this?

Suggestions: We need: People’s power to say “NO” to unsafe

schools Programmes which address issues of

vulnerabilities especially among the poor and excluded communities

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2.1.Teacher Training on DRR Teachers are a source of information and are in positions to

disseminate accurate and timely information to pupils on impending hazards (disasters).

From a survey conducted by UNESCO, most countries alluded to lack of trained manpower to fast-track DRR in schools.

DRR could be introduced as a mandatory course in teacher training syllabi to increase awareness and knowledge on the effects of climate change and its impact on sustainable development and what schools can do to mitigate the impact of climate change.

Training of teachers is key to ensuring that we have sufficiently trained manpower to facilitate achievement measurable results on DRR through schools.

Best Practices Mozambique has introduced DRR as a course at the tertiary level

with several successful pilots in schools and Sierra Leone has introduced DRR as subject in schools.

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2.2 Inclusion of DRR in primary and secondary school

With trained manpower, it is possible to introduce DDR in

school as an examinable subject. This will provide an

opportunity for all school going children to have equitable

information on hazards, disasters and more importantly what

can be done to prevent or reduce their impact and how children

can protect themselves.

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3.1. Inclusion of DRR as Extracurricular in Schools Children have been reached with information on DRR through school

clubs, annual events such as music and drama festivals with DRR as a theme for competitions. This approach has facilitated information dissemination within the existing school activities without the additional burden to the already crowded educational curriculum. This approach has been piloted in Kenya, South Africa, and Ghana.

3.2.Children led organizations Children led organizations have also emerged in the last 10 years

providing an avenue for information sharing as well as getting feedback from children on issues they feel most concerned about.

In Kenya for instance, there are more than 4000 children rights clubs sponsored by Non Governmental Organizations and International Non Governmental Organizations focused on children’s rights.

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Lesson learnt In Uganda, children led organizations have shown that children

can protect themselves against violence at home and in r school( Safe the Children) when given an opportunity and information to build self confidence and defend themselves.

This approach empowers children to be activists for safer schools

As activist they keep parents, teachers, community leaders and the government on their toes to build safer schools for children,

Can transfer information from school to family on early warning on possible hazards and risks.

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1. Safe guarding the rights of children is everyone’s responsibility. 2. Simple things we could include :3. Review of existing school infrastructure in the context of local

hazards and take action to prevent or reduced risks. Such measures could closure of schools, Fines for those breaking laws, providing children with alternative schools etc

4. Include issues of safer school in your DDR legislation and policy being developed

5. Provide parents with information on safety measures in schools on admission of their children in any school as a rule.

6. Children ‘s empowerment activities on DRR incorporate these three primary pillars:▪ Prevention-what children can do to prevent possible risks▪ Mitigation- What possible actions children can undertake to

reduce risks▪ Preparedness- Children’s knowledge on early warning

symptoms of impending disaster▪ Children must be learn that “rights go with responsibilities”

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6. Ministry of Education must look for all possible opportunities to incorporate Disaster Risk Reduction in School curriculums at primary, secondary and tertiary level.

7. Safer schools for children require increased budgetary location to support construction of safer schools especially among poor and excluded communities

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The Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015 United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2014) The Convention on the Rights of the Child The World Disaster Reduction Campaign Prevention Web Save the Children UK International Strategy for Disaster Reduction UNICEF Red Cross

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