The programme continues in 2017, with a further 1,944 children from 28 elementary schools learning about the importance of a fire-free landscape as part of general studies and taking this message home to discuss with their families. Later this year, another version of the programme will be rolled out to 18 junior high schools in the province.<\/p>\n
The schools programme was initiated by APRIL in late 2015 when APRIL\u2019s corporate communications and community development teams linked up with the Pekanbaru-based NGO Blue Green and proposed to the Ministry of Education that it become part of the school syllabus in Riau province. It received quick approval from education officials when they learned it was part of the long-term vision to prevent fires and stop haze in the region.<\/p>\n
At the heart of the elementary programme is a comic book that would capture the interest of students and help them appreciate the importance of the issue and the benefits of a fire free landscape.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/april.hellopomelo.space\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/FFVP-children2.jpg\")
Sailal Arimi explaining APRIL’s Fire Free Village Program (FFVP) at a school in Riau<\/p><\/div>\n
\u201cThe comic book was very important because we needed to talk to the children in their language but we also needed them to understand the issue in the same way that government, NGOs and teachers do,\u201d explained Sailal Arimi, APRIL Fire Prevention Manager, who led the team working with Blue Green.<\/p>\n
The\u00a0book features the characters Bunga (\u201cFlower Girl\u201d) and Alam (\u201cNature Boy\u201d) who relate a story about the impact of fire on their health and learning, and how the solution to the haze is to stop the fires.<\/p>\n
However, as Sailal explains, the messages were not just aimed at the students. \u201cWe knew that children could be a big influence on their parents and that many would go home and say \u2018please no more burning\u2019. I think many times it was an emotional conversation,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
Blue Green teams visited a number of\u00a0elementary schools each day together with Riana Ekawati, a full-time member of APRIL\u2019s Fire Free Village team. The visits included teaching about caring for the environment, how fire threatens animals, and the dangers to human health of haze and low quality air. At the end of each visit, children were invited to draw a poster reflecting their experiences with fires and haze.<\/p>\n
A week or two later, the schools were re-visited to see the children\u2019s posters and award prizes. \u201cWhen we saw the posters, we were very happy and surprised at how much they understood the problem. It was clear that the children were very interested in this issue,\u201d said Sailal.<\/p>\n
In August and September, the programme will move into its first junior high schools phase. Several short films have been developed instead of the comic book and rather than a poster, older students will be asked to write essays to demonstrate their understanding of the importance of fire and haze prevention<\/a>.<\/p>\n Sailal says the company will continue with the programme with a focus on not only reaching the children and their families but also in helping teachers to understand how best to communicate fire prevention education as an ongoing part of their responsibilities. Educating younger generations will also help establish new behaviors to counter the age-old practice of burning to clear land, and this is key to achieving long-term change.<\/p>\n For Pak Musri, the programme\u2019s importance is self-evident: \u201cIf we just explain laws and regulations to children they don\u2019t understand — but doing it this way, they get it. That will help us all in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n