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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
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.
Rapid Diagnostic of School Infrastructure
2020
Haiti
A series of earthquakes and hurricanes since 2008 have caused significant damage to Haiti’s school infrastructure and completely destroyed numerous schools. This project for the World Bank developed a better picture of the risk factors and challenges across the country. Our team’s findings and recommendations will help the Government of Haiti to prioritize measures for improving school facilities and the safety of students.
"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).
