How children build flood defences in Nepal

No, Practical Action is not advocating child labour. However in Nepal we are empowering children to take the lead in their communities to encourage building flood defences.

As we have all seen over the last couple of years, floods are extremely destructive. But in the developing world it is even worse. Most people do not have home insurance, the emergency services are virtually non-existent, people cannot afford to "get the builders in" and the rivers are A LOT bigger, so when it floods it REALLY floods.

In Nepal for instance floods literally destroy whole communities: wiping away flimsy housing and washing away roads, bridges and agricultural land.

However a lot of the solutions to flood defence are fairly straightforward and what most Nepalese communities lack is simply the knowledge of what to do.

With this in mind Practical Action has been teaching children in villages next to the Narayani river all about flood defence and management.

With our support the villagers have set up a Disaster Management Committee to educate their communities on how to respond quickly and safely if their village floods. Children have formed part of this committee.

The area now has a complete flood defence strategy: Education programmes using street drama and song competitions have raised awareness; dykes and spurs have been built to reduce damage to property; flood watch towers have been built so there is now an early warning system in place with procedures; Practical Action has provided rescue boats to ferry the young and old; and there are now new bridges and emergency shelters.

In addition we have educated children in schools all about flood management and defence and they are passing that knowledge on to other children in their communities and to their parents at home.

With our help a community which was formerly powerless in the face of large and destructive natural forces has developed the skills to overcome them..

Some other examples of Practical Action's work in disaster risk reduction:

Earthquake-resistant housing 'Improved quincha' – a timber and lattice frame design with an earth infill – based on traditional technologies, are better placed to withstand earthquakes.

Resisting the flood waters Practical Action has worked with communities in Bangladesh to develop simple and affordable flood-resistant housing.

Other stories in Small Talk:
Stove research in Madagascar | Eco-toilets in Peru | Greening Darfur