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CHILDREN PARTICIPATING IN MANAGING RISKS AT PETAPA COMMUNITY

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Title: CHILDREN PARTICIPATING IN MANAGING RISKS AT PETAPA COMMUNITY


1
CHILDREN PARTICIPATING IN MANAGING RISKS AT
PETAPA COMMUNITY
  • EL CARRIZAL, CHALATENANGO,
  • AUGUST 2006

2
What is the experience about
  • Formación y funcionamiento de un Comité de
    Emergencia en Petapa, municipio El Carrizal,
    departamento de Chalatenango.
  • Conformado por niños, niñas, jóvenes y algunas
    personas adultas, con el propósito es la
    prevención y atención de emergencias.
  • Es un espacio de interacción de la población
    infantil y adolescente con la adulta, que
    permite, que niños y niñas aprendan de las
    experiencias de las personas adultas, y que la
    generación adulta se actualice con ideas
    novedosas y creativas de la niñez y adolescencia.
  • Conformado por 6 brigadas Evacuación, Primeros
    Auxilios, Seguridad, Medio Ambiente e
    Intervención en Crisis (psico social)
  • Participan 10 niños, 15 niñas y 4 personas
    adultas.
  • Se cuenta con un Plan de Prevención y Mitigación
    de Desastres, registrados ante las autoridades
    del gobierno nacional encargadas de la atención
    en caso de emergencia.

3
Basic Characteristics of Petapa
  • Located at 95 kilometers from San Salvador, at
    the border zone with Honduras.
  • Characterized by its high risk situation due to
    droughts, forest fires and landslides.
  • It has 790 inhabitants 345 male and 445 female,
    grouped in 200 families.
  • Economic activity Livelihood agriculture (corn
    and bean)
  • With access to services like energy, water and
    phone.
  • It has a school that attends to ninth grade, with
    260 studentes, 120 boys and 140 girls.
  • The maximum authority in the place is the
    Association for Community Development (ADESCO).
  • Other organizative spaces Water Board, School
    Council Board (CDE) and Juvenile Group.

4
Factors for the arise
  • The organizational tradition it is considered
    that the organization is the key to solve
    problems and they had organized in ADESCO, Water
    Board, ADESQUITO, Juvenile Group and Emergency
    Committee.
  • The need to be ready to face emergencies
  • Plan El Salvadors strategy promote the
    participation of children in managing risks.
  • Began when the principal of school gave us the
    new that we will be part of this project, because
    some workers from Plan had told him that we will
    be trained in different topics that will prepare
    us for our future, about what to do in an
    emergency
  • Workshop with children members of the Emergency
    Committee
  • Community awareness about the need that children
    participate in the attention of emergencies and
    managing risks.

5
The arising of the Emergency Committee in Petapa
  • In 2005, with the support of Plan El Salvador
    promoted the creation of an emergency committee
    constituted by children and other one constituted
    by adults.
  • It was Plan that planted the seed, the tree, but
    in but in the development of the idea we found
    some obstacles There were difficulties to grow
    up.
  • Promotes the interrelation between the children
    emergency committee and the adults emergency
    committee.
  • An emergency committee combined with adults and
    children was constituted.
  • Join training and actions are realized to face
    and prevent emergency situation.
  • Began with training from Plan, so we knew that
    also the children had rights to participate and
    act, step by step they were leading us in each
    training and then we felt supported by the people
    that came and so we began with the presentation
    of topics about childhood and some information
    about risk prevention, it grew up until what it
    is now and we are now
  • The basic approach of the committee is to
    guaranteed the protection of the children rights
    in emergencies.
  • The environment protection is perceived as a key
    element to prevent risks in the community.

6
Actions realized
  • Constant training in topics related with
    environment protection, answers facing
    emergencies, risk prevention and awareness about
    the children rights.
  • ... We had done many actions, among them we
    stopped the extraction of rock from the river, we
    have received some trainees , and in my case I
    feel good because I share with people from other
    communities and now I know, that the adolescents
    are able to do anything we want
  • Organization of Committees and Brigades.
  • Incidence actions in local agents (ADESCO,
    church, etc) to avoid the damage of the riverside
    at Sumpul river and became a risk factor for
    children and the community.
  • Legalize the emergency committee before the Civil
    Protection authorities.
  • Elaboration of a Plan to Mitigate and Prevent
    Risks to face possible situations of emergency.
  • We have made a map where are located the most
    vulnerable zones, we had created the brigades

7
Actions realized
  • Elaboration of a map with the vulnerable zones.
  • Practices
  • Establishment of relations with children and
    adults from the community Olosingo, located in
    Honduras, to protect the basin of the Sumpul
    river.
  • ... And also a stop to the extraction of rock
    from the river, it didnt have defense and when
    rise, some of the houses could be in great
    danger.
  • Coordination with institutions that work in risk
    prevention.
  • Construction of a retention wall at the school
    due to the landslide risks, as the construction
    of fences.
  • Cleaning campaigns and education to prevent
    emergency situations.

8
Approach work of the emergency committee
  • The most important and the center of the action
    is the protection to the children rights, and
    guaranteed their participation in all the
    decisions taken to face the emergency.
  • Promote the interaction between the experiences
    of the adults and the creativity and enthusiasm
    of the children and adolescents, facilitating a
    process in which the differences of ideas, ages
    and approach are respected, about the different
    problems in the place.
  • ...we had coexisted with adolescents from other
    communities we had learned to relate with
    adults, it is been useful to feel us important
    and that we value
  • Formation of capacities in children to face
    emergencies and prevent risks.
  • Inter-institutional coordination between the
    committee, the school, the health facility, the
    municipality, the PNC and Plan El Salvador to
    face coordinately the emergencies.

9
Main achievements
  • Children from the committee had acquired
    capacities and tools to face emergency
    situations.
  • before I didnt know what to do in a disaster
    and now I do and I feel more confident and being
    part of a group makes me feel stronger
  • Community organizative level that facilitates the
    protection, not just to the children rights, but
    the community.
  • Prohibition to avoid the extraction of rock and
    sand from the Sumpul river, to guaranteed the
    children right to protection and recreation.
  • a very important action that we did was to avoid
    the extraction of rock from the river we should
    have the risk that the river will dry and we are
    out of water we made signs to forbid the
    extraction, we made an agreement with other
    community in Honduras and we prevent the
    extraction of rock we had talked and told to
    many people the things we kinow so they can act
    in a disaster like we do and could help us.
  • Children become a referent actor in the topic of
    attention and prevention of risk for neighbor
    communities like Olosingo, with whose we made
    coordinations. coordinaciones.

10
Main achievements
  • People from the community are aware about their
    duty to guaranteed the children right of
    protection facing emergencies and the importance
    of the participation of the children in the
    mitigation processes and risk prevention.
  • the good thing is that we feel more encourage to
    act in cas of a disaster, to have the right to
    participate and make valuable our opinions
  • The children express their ideas and opinions
    freely which are value and respected as for
    children as for adults.
  • the children that are participating will be
    the facilitators of tomorrow, they will transmit
    their knowledge and acquired experience we
    didnt have that chance, if we could have it the
    things will be different. Children has fabulous
    ideas and can give if they have the chance,
    sometimes they dont develop their minds because
    the parents block them.
  • The respect for the different ideas from boys,
    girls, adolescents, women and men had become part
    of the community daily life.
  • we had learned to coexist with the adults and
    we know that they and we have ideas, sometimes
    different but both are important... They had
    valued this ideas and we valued their ideas
    too... Sometimes we felt that we have less value
    because we were younger than the adults but now
    we know that we are the same... All of us have
    new ideas to share.

11
Obstacles
  • Lack of confident in the parents about the
    participation of children in activities from the
    Emergency Committee, they didnt let them go.
  • Many relatives dont support us because they say
    that we cant stop the land to prevent a
    landslide but I told them that we couldnt stop
    the land but we can do something to prevent it
    my brothers support me because they say that in
    the future I can be an example for other children
    in El Salvador and other countries
  • Criticizes from the people for the participation
    of the children, which they think is a waste of
    time, or like a negative element for personal
    formation. They put them nicknames parrots and
    catalnicas.
  • The people that see us for the first time,
    humiliate us, giving us nicknames or told us that
    we are not going to do nothing
  • The children state that one of the main obstacles
    they found was the shy, so at the beginning
    they presented shyness attitudes that didnt
    allow them to express their ideas.
  • The committee doesnt have the resources (money,
    materials and medicines) to do the actions
    projected.

12
How they look themselves in the future
  • With more experience and knowledge about what to
    do in case of a problem in the community, we
    have the resources and tools for it
  • United, strength and team work
  • With availability to help other people from the
    community to face the difficulties caused by the
    emergencies.
  • Sharing the acquired knowledges and preparing
    more children to continue the effort and value
    and care much more their environment.
  • Valueing the children rights and ourselves.
  • Learning more every day through the training
  • Happy and optimistic to remember and see what we
    have done. Proud of ourselves and the other
    members of the community.
  • With more bravery to face the different
    problems, without fear to face any situation that
    could happen in the future and never stay behind
  • With a beautiful river, with more stones and
    much water.
  • With a better future, with better conditions for
    all, less threats and less disasters
  • Establishing coordinations and support between
    the adults and children, in order to capitalize
    the experience and impregnate the creativity and
    enthusiasm.

13
Messages from children
14
Literary expression of the children
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