Search results

The purpose of this paper is to examine vulnerability conditions to flood disasters in Tokwe-Mukorsi community, Zimbabwe and identifies the barriers that constrained the community from relocating to safe sites.

Using a questionnaire survey, field observations and interviews, the paper examines the biophysical and social vulnerability of the Tokwe-Mukorsi community, Zimbabwe, as well as the barriers that prevented it from relocating to safe sites. A thematic analysis of the large volumes of qualitative data from interviews and walk-through analyses was conducted. Descriptive statistics were used in analysing quantitative data from questionnaires.

Results reveal that households living upstream and downstream of the dam were highly vulnerable to floods. Their biophysical vulnerability was partly induced by the construction of the dam whose basin encroached into the farming and settlement area. The extremely vulnerable group were households living below level of 660 m where five saddle dams had been constructed. The built environment of the community exhibited ignorance of standard building codes. The poor socio-economic conditions of the community and the incessant rains experienced over two weeks contributed to the flood disaster in early 2014. The Tokwe-Mukorsi community failed to relocate to safe places partly due to lack of compensation, absence of basic infrastructure and drought occurrence in relocation sites.

The calculation of social vulnerability indices is beyond the scope of this study due to non-availability of quantitative data at community level.

This paper provides a comprehensive understanding of why some communities may fail to relocate despite being highly vulnerable to flood disasters.

Children can play an active and valuable role to minimise disaster risks and vulnerabilities. Yet, peer-reviewed literature on child participation in Disaster Resilience Education (DRE) is lacking. This knowledge gap is larger in low- and middle-income countries, especially related to vulnerable communities. The current study explores how child participation in developing and delivering a DRE intervention is associated with their mental well-being and resilience.

This qualitative study is part of a larger project where a DRE intervention was co-developed and delivered by children in the informal settlements in Chennai, India, using a participatory approach. This project used qualitative methods including interviews and focus group discussions with children who co-developed the intervention, their parents and staff members of the collaborating Non-Government Organisation (NGO) to understand their experiences and inform its processes.

The children involved in the development and delivery of the intervention reported that not only did they learn the skills necessary to prepare for hazards in the future, it also increased their confidence, self-worth and self-efficacy. This was also observed by parents and staff members of the collaborating NGO. They expressed pride towards the children and applauded their ability to communicate key Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) messages with assertiveness.

There is a dearth of empirical papers on child participation in DRR activities, and this study fills some of that gap by reporting the perceived impact of children's participation on their mental well-being and resilience. Furthermore, this study can act as a roadmap for researchers aiming to do action research with children.

DRR is more effective when all stakeholders, especially the affected and at-risk children, and communities are closely involved in structuring, planning, developing and delivering key disaster preparedness messages. This study serves to show that children's participation in DRR activities not only impacts their preparedness but that it helps children in disaster recovery as well, in addition to building their resilience and overall improvement in their mental well-being.

Given the participatory nature of this study, it involves children closely in the development and delivery of DRE intervention. The communities involved in this study had complex vulnerabilities including poverty, marginalisation and based in a low-and-middle income country, India. Oftentimes, these communities are not represented in scientific literature, and this study attempts to bridge that gap.

This study presents a multi-stakeholder perspective on child participation in its potential impact on children's mental well-being and resilience. The DRE intervention was co-developed and delivered by children in the community making it unique in its development process as well as the context it was developed in – informal settlements in Chennai, India.