Digital platform tool for disaster preparedness

Children should have the knowledge of disaster preparedness so that they can react appropriately in times of emergency; and in imparting the lessons to them, digital platform can be used.   

However, indigenous children in hill region have little access to education, let alone learning about disaster preparedness through digital platform.

Therefore, they should be provided with the much-needed knowledge so that they can respond in times of crisis. 

Zhantu Chakma, whose project proposes imparting disaster preparedness education to hill people using technological means, was talking to The Daily Star on the sidelines of a programme that introduced a total of 12 project proposals in four different fields -- health, environment, communication and social enterprise -- on finding solutions to disaster preparedness.   

Disasters and Emergencies Preparedness Programme LAB Bangladesh (DEPP LAB BD), a project working on to develop effective humanitarian response, organised the programme in the capital's Dhaka Club yesterday. 

Explaining about his proposal of the project titled, “Digital School for Indigenous People”, Zhantu, also a freelance photographer and videographer, said, “In our village (in Khagrachhari), we do not have any school within two-kilometre radius. So I have a plan to set up a school that will help students learn through digital contents.”  

Along with the regular study, the digital platform can be used to make the students aware of environmental and social issues by showing pictures, online videos and so on, he added. 

Launched last year, DEPP LAB BD received a total of 83 proposals. Of them, 12 proposals have been selected. Some of them are: "Unbaked brick to prevent fire and improve ventilation", "Mobile Medical Service (MMS) through mobile application", "Water shortage tank for fire fighting", "River Sand Filter (RSF) with solar panel for safe drinking water" and "Community disaster awareness through cell phone repairman". The proposals will be funded later on for implementation.

DEPP LAB BD consists of five consortium partners led by Dhaka Community Hospital (DCH) Trust Bangladesh; SEEDS Technical Services, India; the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters, Belgium; University of New South Wales, Australia; and Asian Disaster Reduction and Response Network.

The lab is also a part of a global lab titled “DEPP Innovative Labs” run by Start Network and CDAC Network.

Apart from Bangladesh, the lab is working in three other countries to identify and support the development of innovative solutions to disaster preparedness.

Prof Quazi Quamruzzaman, chairman of DCH Trust Bangladesh, said the South East Asia is a disaster prone area.

But people living here know how to adapt to the situation and survive, he said, adding that the disaster preparedness initiative looks forward to finding out possible solutions to tackle the crisis.

DEPP Innovation Operation Manager of Start Network in UK Bhavya Shrinivasan, and former adviser to a caretaker government Mahbub Jamil were also present.