Over the last couple of weeks, Australian schoolchildren have been inspired by Martina Kuibai, a teacher from the Solomon Islands, who uses nursery rhymes to teach her students how to prepare for natural disasters.
Martina has been travelling in Australia as part of Project Compassion, Caritas Australia’s annual Lenten appeal.
Sophie Burgess, from St Francis of Assisi Primary School, Calwell, ACT, said “Martina taught us a song in her language that she uses to teach the children how to be safe if a flood comes.” Another St Francis pupil, Sophie Golby, said “Caritas means love…people show love by supporting others.”
Fun songs, a serious note
Nursery rhymes are a common way to teach primary school children. But for Martina, this teaching tool takes on a serious note: given new lyrics, the catchy tunes are used to teach kids how to prepare and stay safe when threatened by natural disasters such as cyclones, earthquakes and tsunamis.
Jingle Bells is recast as a lesson on tsunamis. Three Blind Mice teach the children about earthquakes.
Martina enjoys singing and clapping with her the children as they learn important lifesaving skills. She says that children are the group most vulnerable to the risks of natural disasters and has seen first hand how the rhymes empower children to be safe during emergencies.
While in Wollongong, NSW, at St Brigid's Catholic Primary School, she told the Illawarra Mercury how important it is for children know what to do when disaster strikes.
"Children often get left behind and don't know what to do in natural disasters,” she said. “I saw how important the program is during the recent Temotu Tsunami [in February 2013]. The children responded well to warnings and information during the day; they followed instructions, and responded positively to the situation.”
“It showed me that the nursery rhymes and the lessons we teach in class were really having an impact in these children’s lives.””
Adults also benefit from the classes, as children practice the rhymes at home and remind parents about how important it is to prepare for and respond calmly to disasters. "We taught a few children and then everyone in the area knew the song," Martina says.
An expanding program
Year round, communities across the Pacific are threatened by natural disasters like earthquakes, landslides and cyclones. Disasters like this can happen at any time but often occur early in the morning, when children are at school. That’s why Caritas Australia’s disaster risk management project is empowering school teachers in at-risk communities to help young children learn how to be safe during emergencies.
Through the program, teachers receive training that encourages them to plan for disasters and improve their time management, communication and child protection skills.
The program is currently running in 35 kindergartens and primary schools across the Solomon Islands, and in 22 schools in Vanuatu. Due to its success and interest across the South Pacific, Caritas Australia plans to extend the program’s reach to other countries in the region.
Martina has been involved in the disaster risk management program since 2011.
More reactions from the pupils at St Francis of Assisi
I learnt that if we donate even a little money, it can make a big difference in other people’s lives. Liam Carroll
We learnt that wealth is not spread evenly around the world, some people live on $1.25 a day. Christopher Matthews
Caritas helps lots of people and they are teaching us how to do that too. Tahlia Taylor.