Developing a Disaster Contingency Plan for the Education Sector – 1st National Workshop.

Last week was a very busy time with the Health Sector workshop on the 9th (see post below) and then the Education Sector workshop on the 11th. The two projects are at comparable stages of implementation and this second workshop was to enable stakeholders to review, refine and finalise the sectoral assessment undertaken by National Consultant Dr. Marie-Therese Purvis.

The workshop was well attended by head teachers and officials from the Department of Education and key responder agencies such as the Police and Fire and Rescue Service. The meeting engendered considerable discussion and productive exchange of views with the assessment being widely endorsed.

The meeting then had the opportunity to help design the format and identify the content for Emergency/Disaster Standard Operational Procedure Manuals which will form part of the final outputs of the Project along with the Sectoral Contingency Plan.

The Nation newspaper printed the below article on the workshop in its 15th March edition. Simply click on the photo below to enlarge and read the article.

1st National Stakeholder Workshop to Develop a Health Sector Disaster Contingency Plan.

The 1st health sector stakeholder workshop was held at the Red Cross Society Seychelles (RCSS) HQ Providence on the 9th March. The International Consultant Dr Matamba had been in Seychelles for the previous 3 ½ weeks undertaking an assessment of the health sector facilities and capacity on the three main populated islands, ably assisted by the RCSS who have been employed as Local Consultant on the project. The workshop was to review, refine and approve the assessment findings and recommendations. The assessment will provide the basis to elaborate the sectoral disaster contingency plan.

The Nation newspaper reported on the meeting and its article (from the Nation of Saturday 12th March) can be read by clicking on the image below:

Praslin and La Digue Research Trip for Education Sector Consultancy

Under the “Seychelles National Disaster Preparedness and Response” project the Divisions of Risk and Disaster Management have contracted Dr. Marie-Therese Purvis to develop Seychelles’ “Disaster Contingency Plan for the Education Sector”.

Amongst a series of activities to be undertaken for this consultancy, is a research on our three main islands; Mahe, Praslin and La Digue. This research comprises of a questionnaire formulated to assess the opinions and knowledge of teachers and disaster managers on the potential hazards and school preparedness in the event of a disaster. After the questionnaire, a tour around the school grounds is carried out to inspect strengths and weaknesses pertaining to the disaster cycle;
o Preparedness
o Prevention
o Response
o Recovery

On the 27th and 28th of January, I had the privilege of accompanying Dr. Purvis on her trip to both Praslin and La Digue respectively.

During those two days, the following schools were visited:
1. Anse Kerlan Primary School
2. Grand Anse Primary School and Crèche
3. Vijay International School
4. Baie St. Anne Primary School
5. Grand Anse Secondary School
6. La Digue School (Primary and Secondary)
In every school visited on both Praslin and La Digue, one thing was particularly evident; everyone we spoke to seemed enthusiastic and willing to do what it takes to ameliorate disaster risk reduction in their schools.

The following is a list of prominent flaws/ weaknesses identified in most schools visited:
- Lack of awareness/ knowledge amongst educators and staff regarding disaster risk reduction
- Lack of funds to purchase necessary safety equipment and/ or maintenance of equipment
- Adequate preparedness but for only one type of disaster (usually Fire)
Although all schools have their strengths and weaknesses, it is worthy to commend the schools that have made strong and proper attempts recognizing the importance of disaster preparedness. Exemplary practices being implemented are:
- Assigned disaster manager
- Strategically placed smoke detectors and smoke alarms situated at key areas (e.g. Kitchen and laboratories) in the school
- Evacuation plans
- Fire blankets
- Maintained Fire hose reels and fire extinguishers
- Fire exit signs
- Designated fire assembly points
- Fire practice drills biannually
Up until now, Seychelles does not have a standard in terms of disaster preparedness in schools and because of this; schools have had to rely on accumulated experiences in order to set their own safety standards.

The first of two workshops will be held on the 11th of March 2011, where the results of this research and quantitative data collected will be discussed and analysed by stakeholders. The objective of this workshop is to present, discuss and finalise an education sector disaster preparedness assessment as the first stage in the development of the sector contingency plan (Contributed by Ms D. Sabino, Project Officer).