Two young Eastern
Samarnons’ encounter with Indonesian President, Queen
By Philippine Information
Agency (PIA 8)
October 26, 2012
TACLOBAN CITY –
Two children from Eastern Samar had the rare chance of discussing
disaster risk reduction and climate change with the Indonesian
President and Queen in Yogyakarta, Indonesia during the 5th Asian
Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in Yogya Expo Center
on October 23-25 at Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
The two children, Mark,
14-years old from Oras, Eastern Samar and Thania, 16 years old from
Llorente, Eastern Samar were among the 18 children representatives
from Indonesia, Cambodia, Philippines, Japan who attended the
Conference and the Side Event on Children’s Participation in Safe
school and Inclusive Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) on October 24.
Mark presented the Child-centred
Disaster Risk Reduction activities he actively engaged in at their
town with the help of Plan International, a development organization
with programs for children.
The young Mark is the leader
of the so called “texter clan.” He maximizes the use of text messaging
in sending disaster-related information and typhoon updates to his
friends.
Indonesian President Susilo
Bambang Yudhoyono asked Mark about his personal experiences during
disasters and the activities undertaken by the community to increase
their resilience.
Mark also underscored that
disaster is aggravating the problem related to trafficking to the
affected areas. He handed the president a copy of the Children’s
Charter for Disaster Risk Reduction.
The sharing took place after
the President graced the formal opening of the Conference on October
23, at a booth set up by Plan International and other international
NGOs.
At the Side Event on
Children’s Participation in Safe school and Inclusive Disaster Risk
Reduction (DRR) on October 24, Mark emphasized to Margareta Walstrom,
head of the Geneva-based United Nations International Strategy for
Disaster Reduction (UNISDR), the principle of child protection in
schools and that education must not be interrupted as a result of
disasters.
“The important message I am
hearing from you today is that you are ready to participate not just
in planning disaster risk reduction activity but also in
implementation and you have many concrete ideas. I thank you all for
your contribution,” Wahlstrom said.
Meanwhile, Thania, Mark and
the other 16 other children from the Asia-Pacific countries who
attended the conference were very happy to meet the Queen of
Yogyakarta Gusti Kanjeng Ratu Hemas.
“It’s important to change
information and share knowledge among children and between children
and adults so we as adult will continuously listen to and respect
children’s voice in DRR,” GKR Hemas told the children.
Thania shared her
experiences as a child leader to the Queen. Thania is actively
involved in facilitating children’ sessions in the barangays on DRR
and climate change concepts.
“Children have the capacity
and potential to adapt with their environment, to learn faster about
information technology and to manage information and use it for their
benefit to be more resilient in coping with disaster,” GKR Hemas
added.
Mark and Thania successfully
blended with other Asian child leaders in order to get the attention
of the conference delegates who were composed of ministers, government
officials and representatives from the Asia-Pacific region.
The young Eastern Samarnons
had an advantage as they are the only children participants who can
speak English, Plan’s Sandee Saavedra and Baltz Tribunalo disclosed.
The Children’s Charter on
DRR they handed to the guests is a five-point action agenda for DRR
for children by children, and has been developed through consultations
with more than 600 children in 21 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin
America.
These five actions points
are: Schools must be safe and education must not be interrupted; Child
protection must be a priority before, during and after a disaster;
Children have the right to participate and to access the information
they need; Community infrastructure must be safe, and relief and
reconstruction must help reduce future risk; and that Disaster risk
reduction much reach the most vulnerable.
As of this writing, the
children are still in Indonesia, Mr. Tootch dela Cruz of Plan
Philippines in the Visayas, informed.
The travel of the children
to Indonesia was made possible by Plan Philippines in the Visayas
under the stewardship of Mr. Rodel Bontuyan. Plan is a development
organization with programs for children and with programs being
implemented in Eastern Samar.
With funding from Plan USA
and technical support from the Technical Education and Skills
Development Authority, Plan helped build the Llorente Training Centre
in Llorente, Eastern Samar (where Thania came from) in 2006. The
vocational and technical training centre is especially helpful to
young people without a college education as it provides them with
opportunities to acquire skills for gainful employment. To date, 300
students have graduated from the center.
Continuous rains for 4 days
almost submerged the villages on the riverside in the districts of
Oras in Eastern Samar (where Mark came from). The floods destroyed all
the standing crops in the affected areas. Government estimates showed
that the cost of damage was at least US$100,000, representing 220
hectares of rice fields.
Rampaging floodwaters also
intruded into water wells and destroyed irrigation canals. Affected
families sought temporary shelter in schools, churches and undamaged
houses in elevated areas.
Plan responded by providing
basic food items, water disinfectant, water treatment, school supplies
and furniture. Plan engaged children and village council officials in
discussions and planning to reduce the risk of future disasters.
Children were also trained to produce videos on disasters in
partnership with the Force of Nature Foundation.