School-Based & Faith-Based Multi-hazards Campaigns Target Earthquake in the Month of January

The year, 2020, kicks off with the Wesleyan Holiness Church, Nevis and Charlestown Primary school as pioneers of Earthquake Awareness in the month of January for a FAITH-based and SCHOOL-based Multi-hazards Campaigns, respectively.

In partnership with the Department of Education, and the FAITH-based community, the Nevis Disaster Management Department’s initiative, aims to utilize school children and religious leaders/organizations as agents to disseminate monthly disaster awareness messages on an assigned hazard to the general public. More so, it aims to persuade the audience to know what to do before, during and after their occurrences, as well as identifying their evacuation routes.

This year, the Charlestown Primary School (CPS) has shifted its earthquake awareness scope to ‘outreach presentations’ to government institutions. Last week, grade five students from CPS made presentations to the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance, Mr. Collins Dore, and the Assistant Secretary of Agriculture ET-Al, Ms. Rhosyll Jeffers, on Earthquake. Both Senior government officials expressed appreciations and value to the initiative. The presentations focused on the definition of earthquake; what to do before, during and after an earthquake, and the explanations to terminologies associated with the hazard. Their visit continues on the 28th of January to the Premier’s Ministry, Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health. A Grand Creative Earthquake Awareness Display is slated for Friday, 31st January at CPS, after morning devotions.

Simultaneous with the SCHOOL-Based multi-hazards awareness campaign activities is the FAITH-Based component. The Wesleyan Holiness Church will spearhead earthquake hazard in this month. A panel discussion on Earthquake will hold on the 29th of January at the Taylor Memorial’s Wesleyan-Holiness, Charlestown. Topics to be discussed include: Awareness and preparedness; Earthquake resistant construction of new structures and seismic strengthening/ retrofitting of existing priority structures; Incident Command system; Search and rescue; Mass casualty; Impact on Agriculture, and Emergency shelters / sheltering.

The Nevis Disaster management Department encourage the general public to ask attend this event and freely ask earthquake related questions to enhance their knowledge and safety capacity on the hazard.