Disaster Preparedness Saves Lives in Nepal Floods
Disaster preparedness training received with support from Nepal's Government and UNICEF's Let Us Learn program helped school principal Rajendra Dawadi and his staff evacuate 900 students to safety as floodwaters rushed in.
NUWAKOT, Nepal — It began as a normal Wednesday at Tribhuvan Trishuli Secondary School in central Nepal. Around 900 students from Grades 8 to 12 were on the premises when Principal Rajendra Dawadi received information that a flood was coming.
He and his colleagues had to decide quickly.
If the warning was wrong, students would lose a day of learning. If it was right, the consequences of keeping them in class could be immeasurable.
“When I got the information about the floods, I thought, ‘We have to be safe,’” says Rajendra. “So we stopped classes, rang the bell, and sent all the students out from the school.”
When I got the information about the floods, I thought 'We have to be safe.'" — Rajendra Dawadi, school principal
As students ran to higher ground, the school also ordered bus drivers to turn around and drive to a safer location. Within minutes, floodwaters tore through the school campus, sweeping away buildings and learning materials.
Rajendra says training in comprehensive school safety, received with support from the Nepal Government and UNICEF's Let Us Learn program several years ago, shaped his response.
It taught him that when a flood threatened, people needed to move to higher ground, quickly.
Learn more about UNICEF emergency relief and early recovery in Nepal
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For 10-year-old Swastik, a student at the school who was at home that morning, the warning came from his mother. He was brushing his teeth when she ran in and told him they had to leave.
“I ran down the stairs, throwing my toothbrush away,” he says.
His mother, Sailaja, teaches primary-level students at the same school. Her husband had called after seeing rising water on his way to work. Pregnant and with Swastik at her side, Sailaja ran to safety. Swastik's grandfather followed, but his grandmother remained trapped in the family's house until the next day.
Learn more: After Nepal Floods, A Long Road to Recovery
Floodwaters have receded, but fear and anxiety remain
Looking down from higher ground, Sailaja saw that schools and houses had been swept away.
“It was a terrible feeling,” she says.
The immediate escape did not end the fear. Swastik says he becomes scared whenever the river rises. Teacher Narayani Bogati has seen similar reactions among children across the school.
“Right now, I feel like children’s minds are completely consumed by the floods,” Narayani says. “So the smallest things are causing fear and anxiety.”
Read more about how UNICEF is helping families manage grief and fear after Nepal floods
Returning to school provides students with a much-needed sense of normalcy
In the weeks after the disaster, teachers worried not only about damaged buildings but also about children losing contact with classmates, trusted adults and learning. The school serves 1,643 students, according to the principal, and much of its physical space was no longer usable.
UNICEF installed nine temporary learning centers at the school, along with water, sanitation and hygiene facilities, and provided learning materials to students. Classes resumed in the temporary spaces.
On the first day back, Swastik talked and played with his friends. Teachers led games, and he received a school bag containing learning materials.
His account of the day is simple: "I’m feeling good about going back to school.”
Narayani says the temporary setting gives children room to talk about what happened, including loved ones who were affected, while continuing to learn and spend time with friends and teachers.
“We were able to ease that fear, at least a little,” she says.
Let Us Learn combines direct education support with systemic change
One of the longest-standing education initiatives for children and adolescents in Nepal, Let Us Learn was founded in partnership with UNICEF by Susan Cummings-Findel and Stefan Findel in 2011. Based on three principles — equity, innovation and flexibility — the program aims to remove barriers that prevent students from learning, including training teachers, fostering safe learning environments and providing financial support for families.
Since its creation, Let Us Learn has directly supported more than 1.85 million children, adolescents and school staff across five countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Liberia, Madagascar and Nepal. UNICEF Country Offices supported by the program focus on every age group, from pre-primary and primary education through secondary, and it works across formal and nonformal learning spaces.
Learn more about Let Us Learn: Equity in Education
Ensuring every child has safe access to quality education
Rajendra hopes the lesson from the evacuation reaches beyond one school. Comprehensive school safety measures, he says, matter during floods, earthquakes and other disasters.
Swastik, meanwhile, wants the familiar parts of school life back – his friends, his routine and a permanent school building. He also carries a wish shaped by the morning he ran from home: “I hope there are no more floods.”
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This story was adapted from unicef.org
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