Children march in Thailand to raise awareness of global warming 

More than 300 students marched from the top of a mountain in Chiang Rai, Thailand to raise awareness of environmental issues and global warming.

The pupils and 20 youth leaders from Therd Thai school worked in groups to create handmade banners and posters with the help of Plan to celebrate World Environment Day on June 5. Over the past few years the children have seen several unusual natural disasters in their village and province and decided they wanted to stop the problem from getting worse.

By drawing up the banners with messages of how to save the environment, the young campaigners hoped to make the villagers aware of global warming and how to prevent it. They also drew pictures of mudslides and floods to show the consequences of not protecting the environment.

"All the boys and girls were dedicated to this project," said Arbe

 Piapha, Plan Programme coordinator. "They used their time after school to help by drawing trees, mountains and cartoons to get the message across."

Forward march

Children from Chiang Rai province march through the village to raise awareness of protecting the environment

Bright and early on June 5, the students and a marching band marched from the top of the mountain in Chiang Rai down to the market and community area to attract as much attention as possible. One of the youth leaders also held a loud speaker to spread the word and tell the villagers why they were marching.

One female youth leader said: "I stopped working as a youth leader for a few years after being warned off by the adults in my community.

"Today is the first day I have been back and it feels so good to be involved again. I have a great time working with my friends and I hope that we make villagers aware of protecting community resources."

All the students are part of a youth network which comes under a pilot programme in two districts in Chiang Rai. Plan is working with the network to help them inform their peers and communities of the environment issues and how to prepare for disaster risks in the future.

Adults and youths will be chosen and trained to help children identify the risks and the resources available to help their villages recover from emergencies. Children's groups will also create information leaflets, survival kits and other materials to help their communities prepare for and prevent disasters in the future.

Plan will also be calling for this disaster risk reduction work to be incorporated into the local school curriculum by working with the school authorities and providing teacher training packs and guides.