Turkmenistan: “Teacher raises awareness and strengthens the resilience in her region”

"Live and learn" – very accurately and wisely said words; working as a school teacher starting from the beginning of the school year 2012, I’ve witnessed several trainings and simulation drills organized and held in our school by the Department of Civil defense and Rescue works of the Ministry of Defense of Turkmenistan and Fire Department. To be honest, I was very impressed by the ongoing DIPECHO-IX project, which started in the beginning of 2016. Within the project framework I became a member of the school’s disaster management team and received 2-day trainings on the rules of behavior in case of emergencies/disasters and on delivering first aid to injured people. The training was very informative and made a big impact on me, I learned how vital it is to know how to deliver First Aid and the disaster preparedness procedures and that these skills can save people’s lives. I was impressed by the teaching methodology, as many interactive teaching methods were used, and I started using some of them in my daily work. I transferred all my knowledge and skills regarding DRR/FA to my students and started to notice that I was getting a great pleasure and self-satisfaction from my job because it was directly related to the lives of people. In order to raise students’ knowledge on practice, we have conducted simulation drills in cooperation with the Department of Civil Defense and Rescue Works and Fire Department. Students learned about Golden Rule: not to panic in case of emergencies, and how to evacuate from the school facilities in a proper way, places to gather and how to help each other. It was one of the remarkable days in the history of our school. Gulniyazova Arzuv – teacher of 2nd secondary school of Turkmenbashy city.