SAINT VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES - Teachers and disaster committee members from Union Island and Mayreau are now better prepared and equipped to respond to hazards, thanks to a Disaster Management and School Safety Workshop held on 4 - 5 November 2025, at the Tobago Cays Marine Park Office in Union Island. The aim of the workshop was to build the capacity of the school community to better prepare, respond and cope with a range hazards.

The workshop was a joint venture between the Government of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, through the School Safety Unit within the Ministry of Education, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) through the Canada-funded Enabling Gender-Responsive Disaster Recovery, Climate and Environmental Resilience in the Caribbean (EnGenDER) Project.

Participants were introduced to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines National Disaster Management Framework and the role of the schools within the national disaster management framework. They were also exposed to the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) Enhanced Building Condition Assessment Tool (EBCAT) adapted to the KOBO tool and how to use for assessing the school safety of a school. 

Guidance was given on the steps involved in developing a comprehensive school safety plan, and how to use scenarios to test plans. The participants worked through various scenarios of hazards that the schools may face such as drought, tsunami and accident at sea with the school boat and hurricanes. Additionally, there was also a practical component of the workshop where the participants visited the Stephane Browne Primary School to conduct a safety assessment.

The EnGenDER Project is being implemented by the UNDP in partnership with CDEMA with funds from Global Affairs Canada, which is supporting to the Government of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines with post-Hurricane Beryl recovery efforts. Through this project, Canada is also providing support to supply equipment and school supplies to schools in the Grenadines.