FIRST72 recently supported the Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA) to deliver one of Auckland’s largest youth-focused emergency preparedness workshops. More than 300+ children and leaders came together in Pakuranga to learn how to prepare, respond and stay safe in the first 72+ hours of a disaster.

Our team led a 45-minute keynote session on emergency preparedness including covering:

• Common disaster risks in New Zealand and their impacts.
• The four R’s of emergency management – reduction, readiness, response, and recovery.
• Practical actions families can take, including building an emergency kit and developing a home escape plan.
• Hands-on activities, including the “72-Hour Grab Bag Challenge,” designed to help young people think critically about what really matters in an emergency.

The session was highly interactive, with emergency drills such as Drop, Cover, Hold, live Q&A, and plenty of participation. To keep the energy high, we also gave away more than 40+ prizes throughout the day.

Following the keynote, the participants rotated through our FIRST72 station where they could:

1. Fill out their own emergency family plan.

2. Build a household kit.

3. Take part in challenges that reinforced the lessons of preparedness.

This event was a powerful reminder that preparedness is not only for adults.

When young people understand risks and take ownership, they can empower their entire community to become stronger.

We were proud to play our part in making preparedness real, practical and even fun!

We want to thank Vitalii Shevchenko and the Royal Oak SDA community for their support and for the opportunity to work with such an engaged group of young people. It was inspiring to see how much they took away from the day.

“We felt the kids genuinely took something valuable away from the workshop, which was exactly what we hoped for.” – Harry McPhail, General Manager, FIRST72

If your community or organisation is interested in hosting a preparedness workshop like this, get in touch with our team at www.first72.org.nz.