| The All India Disaster Mitigation Institute (AIDMI) began working informally on school safety issues since its inception in 1989, and it later consolidated this important work into the Safer Schools Campaign as a response to the 2001 earthquake in Gujarat. The campaign aims to reduce hazard-induced losses in schools by increasing awareness, developing school-specific disaster preparedness plans, promoting structural and non-structural safety measures, and insuring school children, teachers and administrators against accidents of any kind. The Campaign has made dynamic efforts to empower schools for disaster preparedness and responses. In conjunction with local partners, the Campaign identifies India's most vulnerable schools and supports them with training programs, disaster education, risk-transfer initiatives and other capacity-building mechanisms. Its operations place emphasis on the Hyogo Framework for Action and Tsunami Evaluation Coalition recommendations, and the Minimum Standards of Education in Emergencies Guidelines of the Inter-Agency Network for Education in Emergencies. Awareness, education and training comprise the central elements of the Campaign's work. The Campaign reaches out to rural and urban schools in disaster-prone and disaster-affected areas, training staff in disaster and accident responses, helping schools to develop emergency response procedures, educating students in disaster preparedness and distributing educational materials to students, staff, and parents. The Safer Schools Campaign operates largely on a local level; it helps schools to build capacities for managing their own disaster risk reduction activities. It reaches schools specifically targeted for disaster mitigation assistance, and in doing so promotes disaster preparedness for vulnerable communities. It works in partnership with civil society organizations and government bodies such as District Chief Education Officers or Block Resource Centers. Currently, AIDMI together with Prevention Consortium is promoting the use of risk transfer approaches in India and beyond through demonstration and research. |
