Events held to create awareness about disasters

PESHAWAR: Various government and non-governmental organisations on Sunday arranged events to create awareness among the people about natural and manmade disasters.

The training sessions and seminars were held with the view to train volunteers in connection with the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction.

The Al-Khidmat Foundation, a non-government organisation, organized a training session for its volunteers and subsequently held a seminar.

Al-Khidmat provincial president Khalid Waqas was the chief guest and district president Arbab Abdul Haseeb presided over the session.

The master trainers of Rescue 1122 Inspector Malik Riaz and station coordinator Saadatullah imparted training on emergency relief, fire-fighting, and provision of rescue and relief during earthquake, floods and other disasters.

Khalid Waqas said Al-Khidmat Foundation focused more attention on disaster management after the October 2005 earthquake.

He said the foundation has been rendering services in earthquake, floods and other natural and manmade tragedies in the country and abroad. During the

recent earthquake in Turkiye, the volunteers of Al-Khidmat Foundation were awarded with the Turkish presidential award.

He said the foundation arranged training sessions for its volunteers to carry out the services of humanity in an organized manner.

Arbab Abdul Haseeb said the foundation was providing relief and rescue

facilities to people irrespective of caste, religious affiliation, colour and gender discrimination.

The Centre for Disaster Preparedness and Management of the University of Peshawar initiated activities to commemorate October as National Resilience month with regard to disaster risk management.

Various activities, including seminars and training, are scheduled in October.

Awareness activities were commenced at school level.

During this year, the center aims to reach out and create awareness among 3000 schoolchildren about disaster risk reduction and climate change.

Keeping in view Pakistan’s vulnerability to disaster and the impacts of climate change, it is necessary to create awareness among children and develop a cadre of future resilience leaders.

Most of these children died in the widespread collapses of school buildings. The recent climatic catastrophe in Pakistan in 2022 killed at least 615 children and left 10 million girls and boys needing immediate, lifesaving support.

Climate change seriously affects children’s access to health, food, water, clean air, and education. The growing number of extreme weather events globally is putting more children’s lives in danger. Every year, environmental factors take the lives of 1.7 million children under five.

The latest UNICEF report published this month indicated that over 6 years, 43.1 million internal displacements of children were recorded with a link to weather-related disasters.