Hazard Mitigation Training for Vulnerable Communities: A K.A.P.S. (Knowledge, Attitude, Preparedness, Skills) Approach

Abstract

Hazards are ubiquitous, but the repercussions of hazards are felt mostly by vulnerable communities. To build a sustainable community, its members need to be trained to face hazard in order to avert it from turning into a disaster. Although disaster education is in its nascent stage in the field of education, it can assist communities to reduce vulnerabilities and increase their resilience. In the book Hazard Mitigation Training for Vulnerable Communities-A K.A.P.S. (Knowledge, Attitude, Preparedness, Skills) Approach, Joy Semien and Earthea Nance walk you step by step through the process of imparting disaster education to communities. This book is based on the KAPS model and its application in disaster training. The book is divided into three parts: Part 1 deals with ‘Disaster and Communities’, the second part elaborates on the KAPS Model, and the third part describes the process for implementing KAPS. Semien and Nance view that training vulnerable communities to mitigate hazards is a form of community capacity building. Community capacity-building activities enable all individuals in a community, including the most disadvantaged, to develop coping skills and competencies to address their problems. Unlike the top-down approach to capacity building of multi-cultural multi-hazard communities, they have endorsed a bottom-up approach for community training. By being empathetic advocates and active listeners, the trainers can gain the confidence of the community members. This would ultimately lead to the effective training of vulnerable communities.