Scene

OCTOBER 28, 2017

SATURDAY SUN. 17

Pupils drilled for natural disaster
By Barry Alleyne
In Sendai, Japan

In some Japanese communities,
there is a saying that things
flow better from the bottom
to the top.
The teachers and studentsof the Schichigo Elementary
School live by that mantra, andhope their actions can savethousands of lives in the future.
Located in the earthquake
and tsunami-prone city ofSendai in eastern Japan, thelarge elementary school waschosen as one of just two
in the area to be part of a
special disaster management
programme, which involved allstudents being taught the tenetsof preparedness in the event ofa natural disaster.
“We have tried to incorporate
disaster preparedness as muchas we can into the curriculum
since it is not a requirementfrom the ministry at this time,”
vice principal Masaki Nakatsuji
said to a group of Caribbean
and Pacific-island reporters
touring the city.
School officials decided
on the programme after its

Vice principal Masaki Nakatsuji.

students miraculously escaped
death or injury in the Great
East Japan earthquake andtsunami on March 11, 2011.
But according to Nakatsuji,it’s not just for Japan.
“The programme can betransferred anywhere in theworld,” he told reporters, noting
the same disaster preparedness
rules apply for those affectedby floods, hurricanes or
earthquakes like small
Caribbean and Pacific islands
such as Barbados and Samoa.
At Schichigo, more than

Mitsuhiko Shiraishi, principalof Shichigo Elementary Schoolin Sendai, Japan.
(Pictures by Floyd K. Takeuchi.)

1 000 students are enlightenedon a variety of measures,
inclusive of how to restart
agriculture should a sector bewiped out, the everyday risks
during earthquakes, and how tomove to safety should an area
be inundated with the raging
waters of a tsunami.
All students, who are usually
between six and 12 years old,
also partake in about threedrills every year, information
about which can also be passed

on to adults in their respective
communities.
Ten-year-olds at the school,
who were about four years
old when the Great East
Japan event sent shockwaves
through the city, were part of aprogramme where they learnt
how to plant and harvest rice,
should a crop be destroyed.
First graders, six-year-olds
mostly, are taught the risks
during earthquakes, and what
to do to avoid falling shelvesor large objects which tend tomove about during shaking thatcan last for up to one minuteduring serious earthquakes.
Most deaths in Japan during
earthquakes derive from people
being crushed by fallen objects.
“The main purpose of theentire programme is to ensure
all the students are aware of
how to protect themselves,”
the vice-principal said. “If that
information is made available
to them, they will know how
to function without the aidof adults should somethinghappen,” he added.
In addition to the programme,
the school is equipped with
fire-resistant gear which canalso be used to cover the headsof students. All kids have beentaught how to evacuate thebuilding at a moment’s asking.
Principal of the school,
Mitsuhiko Shiraishi, noted
there was some difficulty
implementing the programme at
the onset, since some children,
mostly who were born after theearthquake and tsunami, did
not understandthe true gravity of the event.
But, through the tellingof stories by people in thecommunity, they were madeabreast of what previous
generations went through.
The students spend 30 hours
every school year learning
disaster preparedness.
“I felt it was important forchildren to know how to keep
themselves safe instead of
having to wait for people totake them to safety instead,”the principal asserted.
“I wanted them to realisethat when they become older,
they will be important membersof the community, should adisaster strike. We worked hardto create this curriculum forthat reason,” Shiraishi said.