Children

This comprises one important category that needs so much attention since in the face of most disasters they are the ones who tend to suffer most. To try as much as possible and alleviate this suffering it is of paramount importance that we look for ways to lovingly deal with them. Most of the things to teach them were highlighted above in the paragraph dealing with teachers and in summary some of them included: what tsunamis are, how they travel, what earthquakes are, what causes them, how to escape in case of a tsunami and health related issues about the tsunami. The children would also need to be educated on all possible escape plans and in some cases this information may be customized to fit various families. For example a family may decide that in the event of a tsunami and the family becomes scattered, they should contact a relative or a family friend for purposes of accountability for all members of the family. They also would need to be counseled especially after suffering mental trauma. Other groups to be involved in their education would include their families and religious leaders. This would be really effective in Peru and Micronesia since a good number of the populace attends church services with special sessions for the kids. Most people also tend to believe what they hear in the church and thus this would be a good avenue to teach both the teachers and kids.

(Washington Emergency Management Division (2003) How the Smart Family Survived a tsunami. Elementary Ed K6)

Ways to educate them include:

1. Use of posters and signs like road signs to show them what various signs mean and steps to take in the case of such an emergency.

2. Class lectures during which teachers, people in various fields with knowledge about the tsunami and fellow classmates educate the others.

3. Division of the class into groups where each group tackles a specific issue dealing with the tsunami. This would be helpful since for kids participatory learning helps to make them remember better what they learnt.

4. Debates may also be held among the students for example on the best methods of escape and this would be helpful as they would all remember what their peers had to say in the event of such an occurrence and this would probably increase their chances of survival in the venent of a tsunami.

5. Taking them to visit exhibits in places such as museums. For example a model may be created which rocks like an earthquake and the children allowed to jump on them. Such ideas while funny and interesting to the children, would leave indelible marks etched in their minds. This would help them be cautious in the event of an earthquake which can cause a tsunami.

6. Plays and skits may also be staged and such things can show the steps to take in the event of an emergency. The drama clubs of the various school may be used or actors brought in.

7. Use of media such as TVs and radios where programs targeting them are aired for example use of cartoons or story telling sessions as these are a favorite of children.

8. Promotional items may also be distributed. Some examples include name tags, lanyards or pens with information about tsunamis.

(Washington Emergency Management Division (2003) How the Smart Family Survived a Tsunami- Elementary Ed- K6)

Potential problems to be faced:

As much as we would like to achieve all this, there are a number of hurdles along the way which would need to be tackled. It is important to note that what affects the teachers also has an effect on the children in some way since the knowledge teachers have is disseminated to the children.

Some of this include:

1. Lack of adequate funds to implement some of the programs in mind like the training of all the teachers hence causing a disadvantage in educating the children.

2. Small numbers of working staff and instructors due to lack of knowledge and poor education background. In Peru for example, the teachers form only 5% of the total working population in the country and this is a relatively small number compared to the total number of people they need to reach out to. (www.nationmaster.com/country/pe/Education)

3. There are inadequate materials available for the education of teachers and kids. For example not every school can afford to buy extra paper for posters since some have more pressing needs and operate on a shoestring budget. (www.nationmaster.com/country/pe/Education)

4. In a place like Micronesia, it would be a bit hard to institutionalize tsunami education since the education system is a bit rigid since they have been using the same syllabus for the past twenty years with very little changes despite the need to adopt more relevant things. (www.micsem.org/photos/education)

5. Not all children go to school and thus some programs which can be taught in schools alone may not be able to reach some children, leaving them ill prepared.(www.nationmaster.com/country/pe/Education)

6. Some villages may be far away from efficient forms of communication such as Peru where some children occasionally attend small centers called 'nucleos' where they get some learning but this is not so regular as they are very away and tend to be cut off. www.nationmaster.com/country/pe/Education)