Signs of recovery can be seen across Thao Muk, a remote fishing island off Thailand’s south western coast, as fishing families use new and repaired boats to catch their daily income and adventurous tourists are returning.

Attention has now turned to thinking ahead and safeguarding the island and its people from future disasters

By incorporating disaster preparedness lessons into the daily school curriculum students and teachers are paving the way for safer schools and communities.

“Now the children don’t need to wait for the teacher to tell them where to go, if another tsunami happens, they already know,” says villager Bang Marn.

Bann Koh Muk School has over 300 students; it is the only school on Muk Island off the Southern Coast of Thailand. It is the testing ground for this new curriculum,

“Students are beginning to identify risks associated with earthquakes and floods and are learning how to protect themselves and others,” says headmaster Sumit Samhuai enthusiastically.

He initiated a new school curriculum after taking part in a disaster school training programme organised by ActionAid in flood-prone Bangladesh.

“I visited the local schools in Bangladesh with some villagers from Muk Island. We gained a lot of experiences to help our community to prepare better for disasters,” says Samhuai.

“The community have been very active here. They have attended meetings and shared their ideas,” he adds.

Projects led by local people are the ones that will have long term impact says Supaporn Khrutmuang, tsunami policy officer for ActionAid. “The headmaster is the champion of this project. He is keen to learn from the community and integrate local knowledge and wisdom into the curriculum.”

Following the success of the curriculum in tsunami-affected schools, communities are planning to lobby the Ministry of Education to include disaster preparedness lessons in all schools in Thailand. ActionAid will join teachers, students and local partner organisation, the Collaborative Network, in calling for this change.

“By next year we hope that every child in Thailand has access to basic education on what to do when a disaster strikes,” says Khrutmuang.

© ActionAid