Save the Children has been helping quake-hit communities in Bohol since October 2013. Part of our program work has been to launch a Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) program in the 26 affected barangays.
Through this school-based DRR project, Save the Children is ensuring that Bohol schools and communities are better prepared for disasters. By teaching children how to stay safe in disasters and helping to create safe learning environments, lives can be saved. Aside from making the communities more resilient, Save the Children plans to reach 5,400 children.
In May 2015, our DRR staff in Bohol took part in the "Brigada Eskwela" activities. Held every year, this is a school maintenance event done with the Department of Education to help get public elementary and high schools nationwide ready for school openings on June 1.
Our school-based Disaster Risk Reduction project staff, Pepito and Gilbert, paint school desk chairs during the Department of Education's Brigada Eskwela event at a school in Maribojoc, Bohol.
Save the Children Bohol Program Office Manager Roxanna Epe, DepEd Undersecretary for Regional Operations Rizalino Rivera, and Maribojoc Vice Mayor Fructuoso Fiel Redulla, Jr., paint classroom window grills in support of the Brigada Eskwela activities at a school in Bohol.