More than 200 people have died in Pakistan and Afghanistan after the recent devastating earthquake in the region. A further 1,500 have been injured. RedR UK is training local schoolchildren and teachers in essential skills that will help to minimise the impact of disasters like this in the future.
On Monday 26th October at 1.39pm local time, a 7.5-magnitude earthquake struck the north-east of Afghanistan. Its impact was felt in neighbouring Pakistan, and in India. One of the worst-affected regions is Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), a remote province in northwest Pakistan. KPK is vulnerable to both natural and man-made disasters. Earthquakes and flooding are a constant threat. Due to its proximity to the Afghan border, its residents also suffer the consequences of conflict.
RedR has been working in this disaster-prone province for the past two years. Our Safer Schools project helps teachers, school children and community volunteers to prepare for and respond to emergencies, providing them with skills in safe evacuation, first aid and fire safety - skills that can save lives in disasters such as this one.
By training local people, we are ensuring that the skills we teach are kept in-country and will be used to minimise the impact of future disasters. Our training is designed to be used in the long-term and has a cascading effect - last year we mentored 34 teachers in the KPK region. These teachers then went on to train more than 1,000 schoolchildren, fellow teachers and other members of their community in essential lifesaving skills.
