An Early Childhood Education (ECE) package was launched Friday to help preschoolers and young children understand what to do in the event of a natural disaster.

The package includes a flip chart guide, snake and ladders game where students can learn what to do when a disaster strikes, and a training manual for teachers, in English and Samoan.

The package was funded by the European Union under the ACP-EU Building Safety and Resilience in the Pacific (BSRP) project.

It was carried out by the Samoa Disaster Management Office and the Pacific Community (SPC).

Two pre-schools were present at the launch; Sogi Pre School and Moata'a pre-school.

Principal of Sogi pre-school, Orita Pagaiali'i, said the tools are a great help for students as well  as teachers.

"This is such a huge help to the children in order for them to learn the importance of their safety and what to do to keep them safe when a disaster happens, just in case they are not with their parents," she said.

"All teachers should teach their students the exact thing to do during a natural disaster instead of panicking, they need to make sure they learn it because it's important."

Jenny Brown, of the EU delegation for the Pacific, highlighted the important role of communicating survival knowledge, during and after a disaster. She said this is critical to ensure the reduction of the loss of life and impact disasters cause.

Parent of Suatipitipi Faasau, a pre-schooler from Moata'a who was present, Epi Faasau wished thanked DMO and SPC for the initiative. 

"This is so useful," Epi said. "Instead of being given books to read or being read something that doesn't effectively make a child learn, this is something that they can do for fun and learn from at the same time.

"This makes the work easier for us as well, in case something happens, and they know exactly what to do without us, in order to be safe."