Coping with disasters can be extremely difficult, particularly if you are a child. But for the children of AIT International School, “Living with flood” was a theme for their art competition. Scores of children unveiled their talents coming up with their creative best on the occasion of the International Day for Disaster Reduction organized by the Disaster Preparedness, Mitigation and Management (DPMM) field of study at theAsian Institute of Technology (AIT) on 13 October 2012.
“We lost everything, not hope,” was the caption of one of the
paintings of a Grade VI student. Another child from Grade IV had a
painting depicting kids with their school bags and necessities perched
on a boat amidst a vast expanse of flood. This painting said, “Let the
flood not hinder us from learning.” Another child drew a face of a lady
with the left side of her face expressing her tearful emotions during
the flood, and the right side of her face replete with hope after the
flood. Another poster was loaded with suggestions on how to cope with
flood waters. Ranging from timely release of dam waters to creating
houses on stilts, post-flood vaccination to more dykes and sandbags,
better drainage and more pumps, the kids said it all.The day saw DPMM students begin the celebrations with an hour-long
walk across the AIT campus, led by Dr. Pennung Warnitchai and Prof.
Jayant Kumar Routray, coordinators of the DPMM field of study. The art
and photography exhibition was next on the agenda, inaugurated by the
AIT President Prof. Said Irandoust. The event had school kids
showcasing their talent in the art competition, and the entire AIT
community participating in the photography exhibition.AIT is one of the few institutions that offers Master’s and Doctoral
programs in disaster management, Prof. Irandoust remarked. He quoted
the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to stress the need for investing
today for a safer tomorrow. The President highlighted the role of art,
and appreciated that the event had involved youngsters and children. As
Dr. Penning remarked, “The entire event was conceptualized and
organized by students,” the event had students compering and leading
the celebrations. The two event emcees, Ms. Atrida Hadianti and Ms.
Pone Nyet Khaing were also students from DPMM.
paintings of a Grade VI student. Another child from Grade IV had a
painting depicting kids with their school bags and necessities perched
on a boat amidst a vast expanse of flood. This painting said, “Let the
flood not hinder us from learning.” Another child drew a face of a lady
with the left side of her face expressing her tearful emotions during
the flood, and the right side of her face replete with hope after the
flood. Another poster was loaded with suggestions on how to cope with
flood waters. Ranging from timely release of dam waters to creating
houses on stilts, post-flood vaccination to more dykes and sandbags,
better drainage and more pumps, the kids said it all.The day saw DPMM students begin the celebrations with an hour-long
walk across the AIT campus, led by Dr. Pennung Warnitchai and Prof.
Jayant Kumar Routray, coordinators of the DPMM field of study. The art
and photography exhibition was next on the agenda, inaugurated by the
AIT President Prof. Said Irandoust. The event had school kids
showcasing their talent in the art competition, and the entire AIT
community participating in the photography exhibition.AIT is one of the few institutions that offers Master’s and Doctoral
programs in disaster management, Prof. Irandoust remarked. He quoted
the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to stress the need for investing
today for a safer tomorrow. The President highlighted the role of art,
and appreciated that the event had involved youngsters and children. As
Dr. Penning remarked, “The entire event was conceptualized and
organized by students,” the event had students compering and leading
the celebrations. The two event emcees, Ms. Atrida Hadianti and Ms.
Pone Nyet Khaing were also students from DPMM.
The celebrations reached its pinnacle with Ms. Vipavee
Kunavichayanont, a doctoral student delivering a presentation on Design
for Disasters, which had the entire audience on the edge of their seats
admiring her work. Ms. Vipanee, who is the founder of “Design for
Disasters”, a non-profit research initiative traversed through a
journey of how design can be used for disaster preparedness, mitigation
and adaptation.
This year the theme for the 2012 International Day for Disaster
Reduction was “Women and Girls: the [in]Visible Force of Resilience".
Global celebrations were spearheaded by the United Nations Office for
Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR).
