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Newsletter
Resilient Schools & Youth
Every year, natural disasters disrupt children’s education in poor countries. The direct damage injures students and destroys poorly-constructed school buildings. In the aftermath, teaching and learning suffer. Children who lose their school may not be able to finish their studies.
The promise of an education is vital for every child. That’s why we work with youth, educators, and builders to make schools safer from disasters.
Videos
"When an earthquake destroys schools, it takes away the children’s future —and with it, the future of the country itself. In the 1988 Nepal earthquake, the destruction of 14,000 classrooms was significant, but more so was the fact that 300,000 children couldn’t go to school for years afterwards."
Madhab Mathema
Former Senior Human Settlements Advisor, United Nations Center for Human Settlements (HABITAT)
Projects
Nepal Earthquake Desk Program
2021 - Present
Nepal
Nepal is located in one of the most seismically active areas in the world. Based on government and GeoHazards International (GHI) data, a vast number of school buildings are highly vulnerable to heavy damage or collapse. No child should have to risk their lives to get an education.
Learning to Build Earthquake-Resistant Schools: A Model for Resilient School Infrastructure in Sudurpashchim Province
2021 - 2024
Nepal
GeoHazards International (GHI) invested in local masons’ capacity to build earthquake-resistant schools that protect children, and to similarly construct other buildings. GHI worked with local officials and partner National Society for Earthquake Technology (NSET) Nepal to train local masons on earthquake-resistant building techniques, who then went on to construct an earthquake resilient school in Godawari Municipality, Kailali.
School Seismic Vulnerability Assessments & Engineers’ Training
2020 - Present
Amargadhi, Nepal
Westernmost Nepal, is threatened by a major earthquake that most of its buildings, including most schools, have not been designed or built to withstand. This places schoolchildren at great risk, and common school construction practices need to be made safer.
Protecting Schoolchildren in Nepal: A Multifaceted Approach
2020 - Present
Nepal
Nepal is located in one of the most seismically active areas in the world. Based on government and GeoHazards International (GHI) data, a vast number of school buildings are highly vulnerable to heavy damage or collapse. No child should have to risk their lives to get an education.
"I am the guardian of 1,000 children in a fifty-year old, two-story brick school that has not, unfortunately, been adequately maintained. Ten years ago, a distant, moderate earthquake produced a crack in my classroom’s wall so large that my students and I could see the garden outside. Since then, I have known what would happen to my school—and my children—in a large earthquake, unless we prepare."
Sanu Kumari Nepal
Director, Kanya Mandir Secondary School, Kathmandu, Nepal.
Blog
"I’ve stood in Armenia on a spot where a school had stood just a week before—and 600 children’s lives were lost. This experience drove home the need to blend the human dimension with the traditional economic view. In working with GHI, I have the opportunity to save tens of thousands of lives."
L. Thomas Tobin
Former Executive Director, California Seismic Safety Commission
Publications
School Earthquake Safety and Preparedness – Course Materials developed for India
2008
A program to reduce school earthquake risks and to educate students, faculty, and parents about earthquake preparedness. Developed for India schools and applicable elsewhere.
Resources:
Teacher Sensitization: Instructor Guide
Investing in Quito’s Future
1995
A description of the Quito, Ecuador school earthquake safety project, which prioritized high risk school buildings and presented solutions to strengthen them.
Link:
Keeping Schools Safe in Earthquakes
A process for nations to develop an effective school earthquake safety program, prepared for Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
