The Blossom Nursery Family’s Post

🌳 The Tree of Safeguarding is now officially growing! 👏 This week our CEO Emily Konstantas had the absolute pleasure of physically planting the Tree of Safeguarding at Citizens School Dubai alongside Principal Colin Sinclair. This Tree symbolises a shared vision in safeguarding and as it continues to grow so will a culture of safeguarding. 🌱 You cannot plant a tree and expect it to grow just because you have a seed. The environment has to be right, for example an oak tree will not grow in the desert and a palm tree will not grow in a cold forest. 🌎 The same principle applies to safeguarding. You cannot take a 'UK' seed of safeguarding, plant it internationally, and expect it to grow as the conditions will not support it. Safeguarding must remain not only contextual but culturally contextual. #safeguardingdubai #safeguarding #safeguardingchildren #safeguardingUAE #safeguardingschools #schoolsUAE #schoolleadersUAE #schools #education #educationleaders #citizensschoolsdubai #dubaischools #dubaisafeguarding #safeguardingdubai #TreeofSafeguarding #SafeguardingTree

FLOODS IN SCHOOLS AND SAFETY & HEALTH The heavy rains experienced in many parts of Kenya have caused untold havoc, not sparing the institutions of learning. THis has happened when the schools were just opening and thank God, the opening was postponed. However, if you ask me, delaying the opening alone isn't enough to save us from the prevailing problems. From a safety and health perspective, the floods basically brought pollution in the schools and other areas occupied by people. As such, there ought to be a deliberate sanitation of the spaces that were impacted by the uninvited waters that carried all sorts of impurities from the overflowing sewages, etc. During the 1 week of postponed opening, there should be a deliberate effort in cleaning and disinfecting the spaces affected before the learners return. Without doing this, we may court new challenges brought about by the polluted environment occupied by people, more so, children who cannot keep to the minimum public safety and hygiene prescriptions during such times. The respective government agencies, communities and interest groups should swing into action in the provided window. My thoughts.

The effect of floods on child education in Africa. Floods have not only killed but also rendered tens of thousands of Kenyans and people around the world homeless. They have destroyed businesses in Saudi Arabia and Dubai. Earlier in the year they destroyed property in South Africa and with continued downpour, many schools are flooded and will remain closed. But the greatest danger is still the threat of death by floods which will leave many children homeless and in danger of drowning even as they miss school because of flooded education facilities. Here is the impact of floods in one of Kenya's towns.

Understanding the basics of first aid is critically important. It equips individuals to provide immediate assistance in medical emergencies, potentially saving lives or preventing further harm. Basic first aid knowledge covers CPR, wound care, choking, and more, enabling swift and effective response until professional help arrives. It empowers people to be proactive in emergencies.   Public knowledge of first aid is vital for disaster preparedness, as it ensures rapid response, minimizes casualties, and enhances community resilience.   #hamradio #amateurradio #respecttomyvolunteerwork  #dctiahkbindiaVolunteer #volunteer #dctiahkbindia

The power of community education when it comes to emergency response is very crucial but many take it for granted. By educating communities, we can help to ensure that everyone is prepared to act in case of an emergency, potentially saving lives. Education can take many forms, from first aid training to disaster planning. But no matter the format, the impact of community education cannot be underestimated. When individuals are empowered with the knowledge and skills to respond to emergencies, we can work together to create safer and more resilient communities. If you want to know more follow us on the link below https://lnkd.in/eVNT2RQm At Life Bridge International, we are committed to providing community education to help better prepare individuals and communities. Let's work together to create a world where everyone has the tools they need to respond to emergencies and keep each other safe. #LifeBridgeInternational #lifesaving #education #Safety #Resilience

Recently I have completed the 2 days training on Disaster Risk Reduction in Education with newly deployed fellow's (Teachers) of Teach For Bangladesh at Cox's Bazar. The cohort of 30 fellows are the first batch to be deployed in Cox’s Bazar. Also, a new experience for me work with bunch of pre-service trained teachers. There were highs and lows during the trainings but the fresh and young minded fellows were very enthusiastic and participative. It was fun to facilitate the training. It took me and my team months to developed the training package targetting teachers at Crisis affected Cox's Bazar region. The package was developed through need assessmnet, prototyping, several reviews and testing. We enagage teachers, education officials in the process. Still we are working on the content to modify areas based on the feedback of participants. We will conduct training with Govt. primary and Secondary system taechers on this as well. Working on DRR was a new area for me as I was not much familiar with the DRR response in education of Bangladesh. While working on the content I found there is very limited initiative for teachers capacity development on DRR related issue both from Govt. and other sectors. Teachers have very limited theoritical and practical knowledge on how they can response, continue education and work with the community before, during or after disaster.Teachers' don't have to be very knowlgable on DRR, but at least they shoukd to know the basic response and prevention mechanism to support learners. Also, as a highly disaster prone country, tecahers in our country really need to equipped themselves to mitigate disaster risk, not onky for learners but also for themselves. I really hope this DRR tecahers training package will be helpful for the teachers to develop their capacity on DRR. #IRCbangladesh #teachforbangladesh #Coxsbazareducation

Simple and low cost #CSR activities for every #MSME business in #summer :- 1- ensure that the #AC s are on and available for all the staff 2- collate the out of office work to minimize the travel span of your runner/peon and exposure to the heat 3- Nimbo-Pani to your staff and the office boy 4- install a water cooler in your office 5- offer some #umbrella to the homeless people in your area 6-Check your car before starting - in case any stray dog/cat is resting beneath it 7- Allow #WFH and additional paid leave to staff who are suffering from lack of a good sleep during night due to electricity failures 8- For your #transport #vehicles- consider installing a mini cooler Please provide additional pointers which are followed or can be done as per your views .Let's make the world a better place by few degrees ! #humanresource

Kenya is currently facing a humanitarian crisis. This is due to the ongoing floods that have caused havoc in many parts of the country. People have lost lives and a majority have been displaced. Who's to say the weather man hadn't raised an alarm? Yet no action was taken as a preventive measure or at the very least a crisis plan. About three years ago when the covid pandemic broke out, I penned an article that was published by both Nation and Standard newspapers. You can read it again here 👉 https://lnkd.in/gGmG9JB The current floods just like the pandemic then, is a lack of preparedness by the government. We already know that at this time of the year, we have long rains. How then do we as a country, not anticipate floods and have proper systems and mechanisms to combat the heavy rains? How many more lives do we have to lose in order for action to be taken? The irony of the current situation is that we have a lot of water now that could otherwise be harvested and later used for irrigation during the dry season. Can we as a people learn from our mistakes and do the right thing? #Earlywarning #Earlyaction

School reopening postponed indefinitely due to the ongoing floods It was a sigh of relief after President Ruto directed the indefinite postponement of schools reopening due to the ongoing ravaging floods that have left the country in total despair. This follows the earlier late-night directive issued by education CS Ezekiel Machogu on 29th April, stating that schools reopening would be delayed by a week to 6th May 2024. In his address to the nation from statehouse, Nairobi, President Ruto acknowledged that, "The devastating floods have claimed 210 lives as of today, caused injuries to many more and wreaked havoc on property, infrastructure & livelihoods". Equally, the president has directed the National Treasury to: 1. Prioritize disbursement of funds to counties, 2. Provide resources to the National Government Constituencies Development Fund (NG-CDF) and MPs to reconstruct school infrastructure that has been destroyed, and, 3. Provide resources for the reconstruction of roads, bridges and other transport infrastructure that have been affected by the floods. Meanwhile, it is now 51 days since doctors went on national strike in protest of intern salaries and renumeration as well as better working conditions, among other issues. However, the president in his address to the nation failed to respond to this sensitive matter by sidestepping the question on the impending health crisis occasioned by the 14th March doctors' strike. As we commend the government response with regards to the current disaster, our key concerns with doctors 'out' of office, remain; 1. How will the injured victims be attended to? 2. How will disaster response efforts be coordinated and medical interventions executed? 3. Who will identify and manage the health risks associated with floods? 4. Who will provide mental health support to flood survivors like in the case of Mai Mahiu? As is, there is no addressing the floods crisis without addressing a possible health crisis with doctors on strike. #Mizani254, where the scales of balance are restored, and meaningful conversations thrive. #GovernancePolicyAccountability #PresidentWilliamRuto

The Global Alliance for Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience in the Education Sector (GADRRRES) is launching a policy survey to understand which countries are implementing comprehensive school safety and how. This will help to: - Strengthen country coordination on disaster risk reduction - Propose practical opportunities for system strengthening - Highlight best practices - Identify gaps in national, regional and global policy and practice - Inform further advocacy and research on this crucial topic. The time to act is now. GADRRRES encourages all countries to take part in the survey and partners around the world to support these efforts. Together, let’s ensure school safety is given the priority it deserves. Global Alliance for Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience in the Education Sector Save the Children International UNICEF