Through this initiative, a pilot program was developed and tested in four schools, three elementary and one secondary school, in three different countries (USA, Jamaica, and Costa Rica), and in two different languages (English and Spanish). The initiative was expanded to seven additional schools in the academic year 2002-2003, and will continue to expand every year.
Teachers engaged their students in activities from a large spectrum, including classroom arts & crafts to demonstrate the strengths and weaknesses of communities, field trips to organizations dealing with disaster management, outreach to the community via a "Mitigation in Action" expo at the end of the school year. Parents got involved in the process from day 1, and helped assess the vulnerability of their homes via questionnaires distributed by the teachers.
A local TV station in Jamaica and the national press got involved in the process of spreading the news about the program, and helped support the efforts of our team in reaching out to the community.
The project's rationale was to create a culture that is aware of the community's vulnerability and resourceful in using methods to minimize adverse consequences. As an expected result, the cooperation of the student body as well as parents in the project's design gave support to the development of such a communal, active culture, which enhances society's protection against hazards, natural and man-made.
