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Children are especially vulnerable to landmines because of their curiosity and love of play. Because of their small size, children are often most unable to withstand injury and blood loss if they are hurt in a landmine explosion. In addition to killing and maiming, mines also damage the child's physical and social world and can be devastating to the child's future development. In heavily mined areas, mine awareness education for children is an essential part of keeping them safe.
In the Landmines Education Project in Kabul, Afghanistan, a new educational approach has been adopted by Save the Children of the United States, in cooperation with other members of the International Save the Children Alliance. They are moving beyond traditional awareness training to add mine education into children's schools and women literacy curricula, safe play areas and treatment centers.
Kabul is the world's most heavily mined capital city. In April of 1995, the ICRC hospital in Kabul treated an average of fifty mine victims each day, as people returned to the residential areas of the city to rebuild their homes in the mined areas. 90% of the victims were 18 years old or younger.
How does the Kabul program work? Children are taught directly in their schools by people trained by Save the Children, approximately one-half of whom are survivors of mine incidents. The children are shown a slide program which gives them important messages about landmines, dangerous areas and behaviors and warning signs. The work of deminers is also shown. The slide program is followed by a short discussion period. The children then receive a "passport" showing they took part in the program. Every time they have another activity, they receive another "stamp" in their passport.
At the second session, one facilitator shares his or her story of being injured by a mine. The facilitators also talk about their personal goals and how they were affected by their injuries. The remainder of the session is spent on a variety of games and activities, including a board game and a "memory" game. These games are designed to help children learn the most common shapes, sizes and colors of landmines, to teach them to recognize danger signs and avoid the most dangerous areas and behaviors, and to test their decision-making skills. All these activities are included in kits that are delivered to each school. Every kit contains enough supplies for all students to take part in twelve follow-up sessions. Volunteer teachers are specially trained by Save the Children staff to conduct the follow-up sessions. 174 teachers participated in trainings between April and September 1996.
- Why are mine education programs important? Why are they particularly important for children?
- What do you think makes the Landmines Education Project in Kabul effective?
- Think about potential dangers in your own school or neighborhood (traffic, holes in the playground, a particular appliance or equipment) and design an educational game/poster that would teach other students about the danger and how to avoid being hurt.
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