THE STAGES OF COMMUNITY-BASED SAFER SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION
SECTION III: MOBILISATION
The Strategic Planning
and Mobilisation Stage
Government agencies provide:
Where disasters have destroyed schools or shoddy
construction is the norm, communities may erroneously
believe that hazard-resistant school construction is out of
their reach because it is too complex or expensive. This
disheartening message needs to be countered.
Safer school projects necessarily start with strategic planning.
When those embarking on school construction understand
the broader context within which they work – including the
stakeholders, cultural practices, needs and hazards – they
can better plan projects to achieve safer schools and stronger
community capacity for disaster risk reduction.
Strategic planning happens at various scales. Larger
projects often have program managers within development
organisations or government agencies who perform strategic
planning, and who examine the broad national or regional
context. When programs include only a few schools, or even
a single school, strategic planning can be localised, focusing
more extensively on the unique community context. Even in
smaller projects, a basic understanding of the national policy
and cultural context is important.
Community mobilisation follows strategic planning. Only
when communities understand their children are at risk
and know how to employ strategies to reduce the risk, will
communities be ready to commit their time and resources
to safer construction. Some mobilisation activities – such
as sensitising communities to hazards and disaster risk
reduction – may be carried out simultaneously across an
entire region or nation, but also need to be adapted to suit
the specific community and school construction project.
One of the key activities in this stage includes forming school
management committees at the level of implementation for a
single school within a village, multiple school sites in a large
community or at regional level, or both.
In addition, the school can become a platform for broader
community learning around disaster risk reduction, as
communities:
• Learn how to adopt hazard-resistant construction
techniques.
• Advocate for safety, allowing governments to justify pubic
investment in disaster prevention.
• Become knowledgeable custodians of safer schools.
SECTION III: MOBILISATION
• Education sector goals
• School construction policies
Strategic planning
and mobilisation
key activities:
•
•
•
•
Diagnostics
Tools identification
Raise awareness
Form school
management
committee
Local community
provides:
• Local context
• School safety
advocates
• Local authorities
• Other organisations and
related activities
School management
committee
Commitment
to safer schools
Implementing organisation
(e.g. NGO, CBO, local authority) provides:
• Program manager
to facilitate process
• Project scope
• Funds
In the Strategic Planning and Mobilisation Stage, key activities for
achieving safer schools include diagnostics, tool identification,
raising community awareness and forming a school management
committee.
Thus, this first stage provides a foundation for building a
culture of safety with the community.
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