My thoughts and sympathy go out to the families who have been affected by the recent floods in Nadi, Fiji and in North Queensland, Australia and the devasting bushfires in rural Victoria, Australia.
Financial assistance is absolutely necessary and allows for flexibilty- it can go where most needed for what is most needed. Fantastic organisations like the Red Cross and Salvation Army provide
material and financial assistance in times of emergency, see links
below.
But I feel it is also important for young people to learn that there are many other ways that they can show support.
A few examples...
- Kindness through words: sincere words of support, encouragement, kindness and understanding have the power to uplift and provide strength to go on. Every person has the ability to show they care through words and there is no cost. School Aid have a programme called Messages of Hope which provides an avenue for this. See the link to their website below.
- Listen and keep listening: You can be a good source of support by listening to people who have been affected by disaster when they are ready to talk about what has happened. The hand of disasters stretch wide, you may not need to be in the disaster zone to come across someone who has friends or relatives who were affected, and they would like someone to talk to too.
- Clean-up and re-building: This often happens some time after the disaster. It is best to link up with organisations who are experts in these fields for safety and effective coordination. For example Volunteering Australia has set up a registration system for people wanting to join clean-up teams. Habitat for Humanity will be involved with house building in Victoria - much still needs to be done before any re-building can take place, however they are seeking expressions of interest from volunteers especially those with skills in a building trade.
- Share your experience: As adults how can we lead by example and instill the importance of volunteering, donating, taking action etc to young people? If you have been involved as a volunteer why not share this experience with your students? The community theme, global lessons and supporting topics provide great lead-ins.
There are many more ways of showing support that are creative and carry on long after the media eye has left. It would be great if IB coordinators, teachers and students could share their stories here on the Community Theme website of how they have supported individuals, schools or communities in times of disaster.
