Disaster Preparedness Begins with Youth: “Children Are Not Powerless”

Young voices in Belize have taken a leading role in advocating for climate resilience and disaster risk reduction (DRR). As part of World Children’s Day, Greater Belize Media partnered with UNICEF Belize and Youth Ambassador Beyonce Villafranco to remind leaders that children’s rights to safety and protection should be a priority in disaster planning.

The theme for this year’s observance is “My Day, My Rights.” A simple yet powerful message that urges the world to listen to children and empower them to shape the future they want to live in.

The historic and disastrous category five Hurricane Melissa was a blunt reminder that disasters, driven by climate change, are becoming more frequent and intense. Belize, like many vulnerable nations, faces increased risks.

Jenna Hoare, UNICEF’s Representative for Disaster Risk Management, spoke of a “multi-sectorial toolkit” developed in partnership with the government. This toolkit guides practical actions to protect children during and after disasters.

“Practical actions that can be taken before, during, and after a disaster. So it factors in things like what are the shelter checklists that need to be in place to ensure that there are safe spaces within these shelters? What are the types of programmes that can be done after a disaster hits? They also factor in checklists for child protection needs and concerns post-disasters as well,” Hoare said.

But how can people take disaster preparedness seriously? National Emergency Coordinator Daniel Mendez said that engaging youth through outreach is key to making preparedness a way of life for the future.

“Children are not powerless,” he said, adding that children must be empowered to take part in disaster planning and be ready to act when needed. The goal behind NEMO’s initiative, the School Disaster Leadership Team, is to teach students disaster response while fostering resilience.

“We want to ensure that we work with children, and we give them the training and support that they need so they can start to be empowered and to take on disaster risk reduction at their level, and as they grow up, this will simply become a way of life,” Mendez said.