As part of national efforts to build awareness of risks and procedures during emergencies, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) has partnered with the Waitukubuli Artists Association (WAA) to share disaster preparedness messages with the public.
Artists of WAA will lead student volunteers from five secondary schools, to create wall murals depicting different natural hazards under the theme “Preparedness Saves Lives”. Community artists are also invited to join. The five schools – Saint Mary’s Academy, Dominica Grammar School, Pierre Charles Secondary School, Portsmouth Secondary School and Isaiah Thomas Secondary School – were chosen by the artists, with the approval of the Ministry of Education through Chief Education Officer Melena Fontaine.
The IOM views this activity as a way of promoting public art and engaging the minds of young people and other community members in thought and discussion about natural hazards, the associated risks and the appropriate response to them. In the words of Project Manager at IOM, Dimitrios Champesis, “We need to find more creative ways to pass the message to the people, translating what the term “climate change” means for their everyday lives; that it relates to the inflated river next to their house, to the more intense rainfall or the droughts that we will experience more often or the stronger, more dangerous hurricanes. We know that when we are prepared our reflexes are better and we are able to respond.”
This week, lead artist LaRoc and a student assistant completed a mural at the Pierre Charles Secondary School in Grandbay, depicting emergency response during landslides. The fact that the students are encouraged to observe and be involved in the process is already generating discussion and increased preparedness. Artist LaRoc observed that students at the Pierre Charles Secondary School were reluctant to face the reality of landslides as a risk. In her words “I am slowly showing them another way of thinking. Prior proper planning prevents poor performance. Always be aware, and ready to move.”
Students of the Saint Mary´s Academy (SMA) are working with lead artist Samara Rolle this week to depict preparedness and response for floods at their school.
Chief Education Officer, Melena Fontaine says the Ministry of Education supports this activity because it is in line with the Ministry’s efforts to build capacity within schools in emergency planning and preparedness.
“We continue to support programmes in our schools that empower our students and teachers with skills relevant to emergencies and knowledge that they can use to protect themselves, their families, schools and communities. The creation of the murals is another way they can feel part of the process to boost disaster preparedness efforts in their communities,” Fontaine said.
Photography competition
IOM and WAA will also run a photography competition on Facebook, where people will be asked to
- like and share the IOM Dominica and Waitukubuli Artists Association Facebook pages @IOMDominica and @WaitukubuliArtistsAssociation
- upload photos taken at any of the 5 murals to the IOM Dominica Facebook page, using the hashtags #IOM Dominica #WAA and #PreparednessSavesLives, and
- share the photos from the IOM Dominica page and encourage their networks to like and share
The person who takes the photo with the most likes and shares will win a cash prize of $300. The photography competition closes on the 5th of July 2019.
This awareness raising activity is part of a project “Support Emergency Preparedness through Emergency Shelter“, implemented by IOM in support of the Ministry of Environment, Climate Resilience, Disaster Management and Urban Renewal and funded by USAID. The project ends in June and has included a survey which found that 300 people were still displaced in emergency shelters 14 months after Hurricane Maria, providing assistance to 10 families to exit these shelters, training of over 240 citizens including emergency shelter managers, repair, rehabilitation and provision of basic emergency equipment and supplies for 16 emergency shelters, and awareness-raising activities in several communities across Dominica.
