Guwahati: The Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), in collaboration with UNICEF, Assam, is organising a state-level capacity-building workshop for district-level teams on child-friendly spaces (CFS) during emergencies here from Monday.
Held in three batches at the National Institute of Rural Development & Panchayati Raj – North Eastern Regional Centre, Khanapara, the workshop will conclude on June 15, 2024.
The primary objective of the workshop is to strengthen the district-level key resource persons (KRP) from the Department of School Education (DoSE) and Women and Child Development (WCD) of all the districts for further disseminating training to district/circle/block level functionaries for conducting basic in situ camp-level awareness programmes for children in relief camps or children whose education continuity has been impacted by disasters.
ASDMA has planned to capacitate the relief camps in the districts with “School in a box kit/CFS kits” which will be handed over to the school authorities. The kits will be used in the relief camps to strengthen the camps with materials and resources to run the camps smoothly.
ASDMA has also planned to strengthen the camps by installing sanitary napkin vending machines with incinerators for women and adolescent girls in the relief camps.
Addressing the inaugural session on Monday, Mukesh C. Sahu, principal secretary of the Department of Women and Child Development, appreciated ASDMA for leading many innovative initiatives for disaster risk reduction, of which CFS is one.
Sahu emphasised the importance of identifying and addressing the multiple needs of children including protecting children from abuse and exploitation in camps as well as post-disaster risks of school dropouts, trafficking, child marriage, etc.
ASDMA CEO Gyanendra Dev Tripathi highlighted the journey of team Assam in creating a model like CFS for the country and beyond. He deliberated on the overall objective and results of engaging and caring for children in camps and beyond to ensure their well-being during and after disasters.
Narayan Konwar, secretary, Department of School Education, also elaborated on the importance of CFS in the context of continued implementation of the National Education Policy and flagship missions including foundation literacy and numeracy.
In his speech, Rahul Das, director, Directorate of Women and Child Development, emphasised the importance of this training in streamlining services and engagement of stakeholders for children in relief camps.
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Speaking about the workshop, education specialist Aparajita Choudhary lauded the leadership of ASDMA for leading the implementation of Child-Friendly Spaces in Emergencies and convening all stakeholders together for integrated service delivery to children in relief camps.
The programme was also attended by the participants of the first batch of the workshop coming from various districts along with all the senior officials of DWCD, DoSE, UNICEF, Assam, and ASDMA.
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