SECTION I: INTRODUCTION
A community-based
approach
A community-based approach offers one way of achieving
safer school buildings in hazard-prone places.
Communities have the biggest stake in school safety –
when disasters strike unsafe schools, it is the community’s
students that are harmed and the community’s education
assets that are lost. It will be their children experiencing
trauma and losing their school. Communities intimately
understand how these damages can delay community
aspirations for years to come.
Community-based school construction covers a spectrum
of possible community involvement, from making informed
programmatic planning and design decisions to directly
taking part in its construction.
How communities will benefit
This method seeks to build safe and appropriate school
buildings, as well as community capital. It acknowledges
that communities best know their context, capabilities and
customs – what locations will be most accessible, which
construction materials are familiar to local builders, and what
designs are culturally acceptable.
Community-based construction can foster a sense of
ownership as communities take part in planning and
design stages. They can articulate their needs and ensure
the appropriateness of the materials and the construction
techniques used. By engaging in the construction process,
they gain experience with the materials and construction
techniques. This familiarity later helps the school community
successfully operate and maintain the school, ensuring it
remains a safe school throughout its lifespan.
The impacts of a single safe school construction project
radiate outward from the school site. When communities
are actively involved in constructing safe school buildings,
they also build their capacity for safe construction practices.
They see how to attach roof trusses so they are secure
during cyclones; practise how to bend reinforcing steel
to strengthen concrete columns so they are protective in
earthquakes; and learn how to lay drainage systems and
strong foundations to reduce the risks posed by heavy rain.
Communities can then apply these techniques to their own
houses and demand that future community facilities are also
built safely.
The approach ensures school construction benefits the
local community and livelihoods. Local labourers can
find employment and opportunities to improve their skills.
Community approaches ensure funds reach communities
when the project relies on labour-intensive construction
by community members rather than feeding profits to
businesses outside the community. It’s also beneficial when
projects rely on local materials and local practice rather than
pre-fabricated materials that communities will be unable to
maintain or replicate.
The approach brings transparency and accountability. With
training, communities can be better positioned to monitor
school construction than distant donors or over-stretched
Kindergarten students in Ghana line up for school. The school was designed and built to address hazards, such as wind, earthquake and
extreme temperatures. The school also incorporates local building materials and sustainability principles.
Photo: Jack Brockway.
3