Every year, natural and man-made disasters result to massive destruction in infrastructure and agriculture, livelihood are affected and economy suffers. Thousands of people die. Those who survive experience tragic loss, despair and hopelessness - and children suffer the most.
As climate change affects the physical ecosystem, our children’s future are in extreme peril. Climate change makes children vulnerable to famine, disease, physical injury and harm. It places the children, their families and communities in danger as livelihoods are affected and the safety of these
communities compromised. The need to be informed and prepared for the inevitable effects of climate change has never been more urgent.
World Vision recognizes this urgency. As a response, “Batang Handa”- the Child-Focused Disaster Risk Reduction (CF DRR) Program - as part of World Vision’s regional resilience project aims to advocate on climate change and engage communities in enhancing their capacities to implement development programs that help mitigate disasters and build community resilience.
What is CF DRR? Child-Focused Disaster Risk Reduction (CF DRR) helps ensure the child’s well-being especially during disasters when risks are high. It is an approach that involves all sectors present in the community to work together to ensure safety of children before, during and after a disaster.
Why child-focused? Children are very vulnerable during disasters but they also have the ability to take some steps to ensure their safety. It is important for them to be aware of the hazards and risks so they will know what to do to reduce negative impact of disasters and be confident of overcoming adversity. Most importantly, children can also be educated about climate change and what they can do to help stop environmental destruction and global warming.
How does CF DRR help communities? Resilience plays an important role in times of emergencies/ disasters. To strengthen resilience during disasters, children with their families and communities are equipped with relevant knowledge and skills to prepare them for emergencies. Furthermore, CF DRR promotes and develops a culture of safety among children and other members of the community.
How does the CF DRR approach impact World Vision’s community development efforts? Most of
World Vision assisted communities have been existing for more than 10 years now in terms of community developp ment.Without the integration of CF DRR in these development efforts, there’s a possibility that when disaster strikes, all efforts made will go back to zero.
How can you help? World Vision urgently needs your support to help fund more CF DRR training to reach more children, families and communities. Your donation will also help us advocate on climate change and disaster risk reduction. It is a collective responsibility of Filipinos to protect our environment and help vulnerable communities become resilient in times of disasters.
