How do we reduce vulnerability?

The teacher introduces the definition of vulnerability and explains that it is possible to take action to limit it:

Vulnerability - the propensity to suffer damages from an event.

The activity is carried out in small groups. The teacher provides different profiles and scenarios. Each group will have to choose 2 profiles and for each scenario proposed, they will have to think about what each of them needs. To make the activity more creative you can draw the outline of the characters and write inside it with coloured markers.

Profiles:

- Man, 50 years old. Lives alone in a city flat. He is unemployed. He has a cat.

- Child, 8 years old. Lives with her family in a house in the country. She has a younger brother. The parents both work and the girl spends a lot of time with her grandmother.

- Pregnant woman in the sixth month of pregnancy. 30 years old. Lives with her partner in a small studio apartment in town. The partner is often out of town for work. The woman spends a lot of time at home where she does smart work.

- Boy, 17 years old. Attends high school. He has a motor disability, he is in a wheelchair. He is sporty and dynamic.

- Child, 10 years old. Recently arrived in Italy, lives with his family in a house in the city. Moved because of his mother's job, still does not speak Italian. The child attends fifth grade.

- Elderly man, 80 years old. Semi-autonomous, lives alone with the support of his daughter who visits him every 2 days. His house is located outside the city, the gentleman does not drive and rarely goes out.

Scenarios:

Earthquake Sudden ground shaking resulting from movements of the earth’s crust - Intense heat wave - Seasonal flu - Domestic accident caused by blunt objects - Online grooming - Road accident

After collecting the data written by each group and reflecting on the characteristics that in the case of a specific emergency may make one person more vulnerable than another, strategies to reduce these vulnerabilities are found together. The profiles are then resumed and for each vulnerability Propensity to suffer damages from an event that emerges, an action to prevent and mitigate damage is reasoned together.

Guiding example. Vulnerability: Child who does not speak English: in the event of school evacuation, he does not understand the directions given by the teacher. Strategy: Imagine translating the actions to be carried out into the child's language - show what to do - have the child accompanied by a classmate or companion in case of an emergency.

In the final phase we reflect on how even small and simple gestures that each of us can put into practice contribute to reducing our own and others' vulnerability Propensity to suffer damages from an event .

The teacher can show this video (English subtitles available) to the class to stimulate discussion: