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the Secretary of Planning in Honduras, is enhancing
these plans to function as local development plans that
will be used as the building blocks for future munici-
pal and department development planning. These plans
include DRR as a transversal theme.
Learn by doing
GOAL believes strongly in practical training methods
such as those based on a ‘Learn by Doing’ approach.
The key is that the learning is practical and involves an
element whereby the community applies the learning
with minimal supervision to learn from its own mistakes.
The same process is applied when one is learning to drive
a car, or learning any new skill. This methodology has
additional advantages in remote vulnerable communi-
ties where formal educational levels are low and people
adapt more quickly to practical learning methods.
Education
The backbone of any development solution has to be
the education system. This should be clear from the
local and municipal development plans, which should
include an analysis of the available education system. In
Honduras, GOAL has supported an initiative to incorpo-
rate DRR within the national curriculum. This initiative
has produced the
Teachers’ Guide for Including Risk
Management in the Social and Natural Sciences Curricula
.
Monitoring the implementation and effectiveness of
this model requires investment over a longer period
to monitor the development and learning of students
through each stage of the school system. In addition,
many of the schools need support such as infrastruc-
ture improvements, copies of the basic curriculum etc.
In order for the initiatives in DRR to be sustainable,
additional support is required for the education system
which will also serve to consolidate the prospects for
future development.
Source: GOAL
Year
Storm Event
Zone Affected
Damage in Department of Gracias a Dios
1
Summary of damage reports relating to recent storms affecting Gracias a Dios
638 dead or missing
2
; major damage to agriculture
lands, livestock and infrastructure
5 dead or missing, 1,000 people evacuated
to temporary shelters; loss of agriculture and
livestock; loss of critical infrastructure including
1 health centre, 2 schools, 1 church, 1 municipal
building,150 houses, damage to public water supply
15 dead or missing in La Mosquitia, Nicaragua;
wind damage to roofs of buildings and flooding of
farmlands
2 dead or missing, 1,439 people evacuated;
significant damage to farmland and livestock,
damage to 352 houses
Communities in low-lying river basins
throughout department of Gracias a Dios
Communities in low-lying areas of Juan
Francisco Bulnes, Puerto Lempira,
Ramón Villeda Morales
Ramón Villeda Morales and part of
Puerto Lempira
Communities in low-lying river basins
throughout department
Hurricane Mitch (Category 5 Hurricane)
Tropical Storms Beta-Gamma
Hurricane Felix (Category 5 Hurricane)
Tropical Storm No. 16
1998
2005
2007
2008
GOAL began working in the remote communities of Gracias a Dios in 2002
Image: GOAL