Risk is inclusive: Young Armenians portray disaster risk reduction
through film
Risk is inclusive. Fourteen-year-old Margarita portrays a powerful
message about disability in a video about disaster risk reduction.
UNICEF Newsline
March 14, 2013
By Chris Schuepp
GYUMRI, Armenia, 14 March 2013 – Margarita Sargsyan, 14, and her
classmates at School #1 in Gyumri, the second biggest city of Armenia,
are taking part in school lessons that might save their lives. They
are learning about disaster risk reduction (DRR).
There are no natural disasters
Following the premise that there are no `natural’ disasters, only
natural hazards, DRR aims to reduce the damage caused by such natural
hazards as earthquakes, floods, droughts and cyclones through an ethic
of prevention.
DRR is a topic that resonates in the minds of the students, as Gyumri
was hit by a massive earthquake in 1988.
Twenty-five years later, one can still find remnants of the
destruction. Older people talk about how almost 25,000 people lost
their lives and tens of thousands of people were injured and lost
their homes.
Last week, Margarita was one of 15 youths who took part in a UNICEF
OneMinutesJr. video workshop on disaster risk education, supported by
the European Union humanitarian aid department (ECHO). The children
developed story ideas on how best to prepare when facing some of the
natural hazards in the area. They then filmed their stories and
produced 60-second videos.
Video:
Films produced during the five-day workshop were shown at an
international meeting in Istanbul, Turkey, last month. Eight countries
in the South Caucasus and Central Asia shared experiences on disaster
risk reduction programming through the education sector, supported by
the European Union and UNICEF.
`Don’t leave me behind’
Child-led activities are central to helping school preparedness and
community engagement. It is critical that all children, including
girls and children with disabilities, who may be hidden at home or in
institutions, be more involved in their communities.
The film Margarita prepared at the workshop, Don’t Leave Me Behind,
takes place in the classroom. It is about an earthquake. In the film,
Margarita starts crying when all the other children have run away, but
then two boys come back into the classroom to get her out.
Margarita uses a wheelchair. Until a year ago, her only option to get
a basic education was to go to a daycare centre for children with
disabilities. Last year, she made a presentation at the TEDxKids
conference in Yerevan and received support from UNICEF to enable her
to attend the new inclusive school in Gyumri. She has attended School
#1 since September.
According to her teacher Noyemzar Khachatryan, she has been welcomed
by a `warm atmosphere’ in the school and by her peers.
Disaster risk education is woven into geography and other subjects
Margarita studies.
Serious about inclusive education
The Government of Armenia introduced inclusive education law in 2005
with support from UNICEF. Today, there are more than 100 inclusive
schools in Armenia.
Margarita still likes to visit the daycare centre to see her
friends. She recently went back to spread the word about her video
workshop and about DRR.
The Armenian parliament is currently discussing amendments to the
education law, whereby all schools in Armenia will become
inclusive. All children, including children with disabilities, will be
able to learn to prepare for the future and gain knowledge to save
their lives.
From: A. Papazian