Building Coping Strategies and Resilience among Young Children after a Catastrophic Storm: Tips to Educators

Parts of this contributing article for educators was taken from a presentation given on December 1, 2022, by Dr. Patrice J. Pinder in collaboration with the University of the West Indies' (UWI) Mona Faculty of Science and Technology who hosted a UNESCO sponsored Disaster Heritage Webinar, i.e., Disaster heritage -- Jamaica National Commission for UNESCO (jncunesco.gov.jm). The webinar presentation focused specifically on natural disasters such as catastrophic storms or hurricanes like the powerful Category 5 Storm--Hurricane Dorian, which hit the Bahamas' northern islands of Abaco and Grand Bahama on September 1, 2019. Hurricane Dorian caused major damages to homes and properties, and resulted in loss of lives. The presentation and this current paper were developed as educational advisory guides to give teachers and other education professionals ideas on how to help young children to cope after natural disasters. Thus, it is important for teachers to help young children (students) to undergo various coping mechanisms in order to build resilience. Using stories/storytelling sessions, games, and comic sketches are some of the suggested tools and strategies that can be used with young children to help them better cope after psychologically disturbing events like the Bahamas' Hurricane Dorian.