TDMRC

Banda Aceh, 5 September 2009. UNESCO Jakarta through Jakarta Tsunami Information Centre (JTIC), in conjunction with LIPI (Indonesian Science Institute) through Compress (comminuty preparedness) knowledge based disaster education program and TDMRC, will conduct the activities of establishing disaster prepared schools in Aceh. This event will take place on September 6 – 18, 2009.

Dr. M. Dirhamsyah, the director of TDMRC said that capacity building for TDMRC is also one of the series of the event in preparing the Indian Ocean Wave Exercise 2009 which will be held on October 14, 2009. On September 14, there will be a rehearsal involving BMKG (Metereology and GeoPhysics Body), starting from PUSDALOPS and Elematary and Junior High Schools selected. “With this lessons from this direct experience, TDMRC is expected to be able to provide capacity building for Disaster Prepared Schools in Aceh,” Dirham continued.

Before starting the pioneering activities for disaster prepared schools, TDMRC had trainings from LIPI and UNESCO. These trainings came in the form of capacity building of TDMRC to be able to conduct studies of school preparedness, communities, and the army by using preparedness measure developed by UNESCO and LIPI in 2006. TDMRC capacity building is done to guide and train the staff in building school capacity in preparedness through five parameters: knowledge and attitude, school policy, school early warning system, emergency plan, and ability to mobilize school resources.

Irina Rafliana (LIPI) described that training participants consist of TDMRC staff and volunteer students from Syiah Kuala University. They will directly exercise their ability by going to three model schools for disaster preparedness, SDN 2, SMP 1, and SMA 1 Banda Aceh. “This activity is intended to build school capacity to pioneer disaster prepared schools by involving the entire school elements,” Irina explained. Under the supervision of LIPI Team and UNESCO, they will organize TOT (Training of Teachers) and Disaster Prapared School for two days at each school from 14 to 17 of September 2009.

Ardito M. Kodijat (Jakarta Tsunami Information Centre – UNESCO) said that pioneering disaster prepared schools which is eventually hoped to have an SOP draft (EWS, disaster anticipation, resource mobilization) before, at the time of, and after disaster. “Another expectation is to establsih policies which will be followed up under school principals’ coordination such regular training, school annual program related to disaster risk reduction, and school components’ capacity and skills (students, teachers and other school elements) in performing emergency actions,” continued Ardito.

At the end of this disaster prepared school pioneering program there will be signing and installing of pamphlets for Disaster Prepared Model School. This event will be attended by Ir. Mawardy Nurdin MSc.Eng (Mayor of Banda Aceh), Prof. Hubert J Gijzen (UNESCO Director), Dr. Hery Harjono (LIPI), serta Christine Hakim (Good Will Ambassador for UNESCO) on September 17, 2009. This program gained full support from the mayor of Banda Aceh and its office, and it is facilitated by Education Office of the City of Banda Aceh. The funding of this program gained from by UNISDR through “Building Resilience to Tsunami in Indian Ocean Region” funded by European Union.