Ayala Malls Abreeza Junior Safety Squad

Davao City, dubbed the “crown jewel” of the Philippines’ southernmost island group Mindanao, is a rapidly urbanizing metropolis that has experienced remarkable growth over the years. While this progress has brought economic benefits, it has come with downsides, such as the loss of wetlands to infrastructure development, which made flooding a problem. Additionally, the city’s location along multiple faultlines makes it prone to frequent earthquakes, heightening susceptibility to disasters.

Spurred by these conditions, Ayala Malls Abreeza envisioned a project, Junior Safety Squad(JSS), that will instill basic safety knowledge to the most vulnerable group: children. In partnership with the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP)-Davao Region, the mall organized a two-day free demonstration event for disaster and emergency preparedness on April 13 to April 14, 2024, at the Activity Center. The JSS project is an emergency readiness program for children aged 6-12 years old covering earthquake, flood, fire safety, and basic life support, using sets and simulations to facilitate instruction.

The program provided a comprehensive learning experience for the young participants. Highlights of the event included the Zipline Station, a fun prelude that boosted the participants’ confidence for the stations to come. Next was the Basic Life Support Station, which taught children how to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). At the Flood Station, children learned to prepare their go bags and practiced packing emergency essentials after watching flood alert on TV. The Earthquake Station was a playroom where they experienced simulated quakes with shaking walls and falling debris, practicing the “duck, cover, hold” routine and evacuation. The final station was the Fire Drill Station, which featured a maze-like structure, teaching children to respond to fire alarms, follow exit signs, and crawl to avoid smoke, ultimately leading them to the mall’s nearest fire exit to demonstrate where they should go in case of an actual fire in a public place.

With JSS, Abreeza achieved its goal of instilling emergency preparedness and basic safety skills in children. The event successfully combined education with entertainment, ensuring the message of preparedness reached not just the participants but also their families and the broader community.