Getting the message across using cultural activities

Name of the project:

Prevent typhoon damage
to housing, central
Vietnam
Place: Thua Thien Hue
province
Time: since 1999
Project goals: Stabilise
and improve the economic
situation of poor &
vulnerable families and
communities in Central
Vietnam; Reduce
economic shocks to
families and communities
caused by damage to
housing and public
building; Encourage the
application of flood and
storm resistant techniques
in existing and new
building; and Create the
environment in which
these actions can take
place
Good practices results:
More than 50 shows with
song and theatre
performed so far in the
communes Legend, song,
poem and theatre play
about cyclones (7 plays
and several songs written)
Legal approach: This
activity is directed by
HYOGO priority 4 on
public awareness and task
12 of the Vietnam second
National action plan for
Disaster Mitigation and
Management.
History: The programme
kicked off in 1999 and is
still continuing with further
phases planned. Phases 1
and 2 were implemented
from 1999 to 2003 funded
by the CIDA and Phases
345 supported by the
ECHO through its
DIPECHO. The current
phase runs through to
2008

Summary:
The Vietnam coast is hit by tropical storms and typhoons and associated flooding at a
rate of 4 to 6 a year or more every year. Almost regular disasters cause extensive and
repeated damage to housing and infrastructure as well as losses to agriculture and
fisheries. Typhoons and floods in 1999 destroyed 10,000 houses and damage 470,000
in central Vietnam. However, one of major issues is that families did not know that
preventive strengthening is possible. Thus, when disaster occurs, the loss of a house
requires many millions of Dong to pay for repairs. From 1999, Development Workshop
France (DWF) started its Prevent typhoon damage to housing project in Thua Thien
Hue. To address this issue in each commune DWF organizes a wide variety of cultural
activities to convey the message of prevention. Local people need to be aware that
prevention is essentially easy and affordable, and they need to know that it is much
cheaper than rebuilding after a disaster.
The cultural activities have been undertaken in diversified forms which encourage the
participation of different groups of people (children, youth and families) in every
commune. The project also communicates with schools, especially primary level for
children activities. Cultural activities include the organisation of concerts with local
musicians, singers and poets, many of whom perform their own materials written for
the project. There are theatrical plays some written and performed by project staff,
others by local troupes. The project provides songs and text used on commune
loudspeaker systems, and it makes use of radio and TV. Some practical information is
reinforced with handouts and home-visits by project staff.
Each activity a play, a concert - deals in its own way with the risk of storms, the
damage they cause and the action that one can take to reduce vulnerability. These
activities also provide villagers with new techniques of house strengthening which is
more storm resistant.
Along with regular activities in the communes, in special occasions, the project
cooperates to organize huge community events. In 2006 during a special damage
prevention week a decorated truck toured each commune with a full-size safe house
on the back with suggested building techniques, attracting many stares and questions.
Especially, in March 2007, with the support of DWF 14 schools of 13 partner
th
communes organized activities on the occasion of March 26 (Liberation of Hue
anniversary). During this time, most of DWF team members, who participated in these
activities, realized that all teachers and pupils were very enthusiastic. In addition to that
these activities were well organized by the team as they have chosen excellent way to
do it. Among these activities, the most remarkable ones are drawing competition with
the topic Xangsane Cyclone and art show with the play "Sustainable and Safe house".
The play written by Thuy Xuan Primary School, was performed in several schools, and
enjoyed by local people and children.
Mr. Sau, headmaster of Loc Tri Primary School which did not have enough time
for the art show highly appreciated the play. He planed to organize some
activities about Cyclone Prevention and an art show with a play Safe house.
th
st
Next year, on April 30 and May 1
Interestingly, DWF uses a variety of local traditional and popular media to
communicate the message that prevention is important in reducing the vulnerability of
homes. Some of these ideas, like the legend of The Mountain King and the Water
King, are traditional. It explains why we have floods and storms annually as the fight
between Son Tinh (Mountain King) and Thuy Tinh (Water King) and how Son Tinh
always conquers Thuy Tinh to remain peace and safety for his people.
The cultural activities are an ongoing process with different events happening regularly
in each commune.

Innovative:
Awareness raising is a very important element in development work. To include messages in local cultural activities
and traditional legend modification is a real innovation. Imbeding in cultural activities is an alternative for traditional
training, workshops or meetings to transfer the message. These activities always attracted a vast number of local
people to participate, resulting in an increase of the message sent to target audiences. For example, in 2003, DWF
composed the play Home Story (part 2) about cyclone prevention. The play was performed in the communes and
attracted hundreds of local people.
Furthermore, messages on prevention are transferred more clearly, easily and friendly to local people. Being part of
their own cultural activities, people feel easy to accept new concepts.
Mrs. A- Wife:

- I remember last year whenever typhoon comes, my hearts was nearly fell out. Do
you still remember, beside resistant techniques, how to prevent from typhoon DW
gave us?
Mr. A- Husband: - Why not? Ill tell you: close doors and windows tightly to avoid the wind to get into
because it will collapse home; plant trees as wind-breaker... Remember? I plant
many trees around our home both for income and prevention. In some years, our
home will be much safer.
Mrs. A- Wife:
- You are getting better....
(Abstract from play Sustainable and Safe House acted by children in March 2007)

Different:
Together with other strategies of the project, cultural activities contribute to the effective results of the effort to
encourage the application of flood and storm resistant technique in the community. This method of sending the
information really works. It seems to be a simple method but it has a remarkable impact on the local community.
Taking cultural situation of villages in Thua Thien Hue as well as in other developing provinces in Vietnam into
consideration, one can easily see that local people have few chances for public recreations and festivals. Such
cultural activities like plays, concerts, songs and contests are expected months before they happen. Therefore,
many of the cultural activities are designed to be memorable - events that one will recall maybe months or even
years later.

Sustainable:
Culture is the spirit of each community, thus messages from those activities can remain in the mind of its population
for a long time. If the songs and the plays are interesting and enjoyable, people tend to repeat them in other daily
conversations or commune festivals without any project context.
Besides, this strategy creates a good start for behaviour change. As the information is transferred clearly and in a
friendly manner, first knowledge on disaster preparedness and the demonstration of safe house in villages convince
villagers to take trial practice and thus to sustain their behavior of applying storm resistant technique.

Replicable:
Most of cultural activities are very easy to apply everywhere. The project has developed many good plays which
require only 4-6 amateur actors/ actresses. The plays are about daily life of local people so their sceneries and
costumes are simple with household tables, chairs and normal clothes. Songs about disaster prevention were
almost re-worded or parodied from traditional and popular songs which are very familiar with villagers.
A popular song in Vietnam Ngau Nhien was adapted for prevention message: House was reinforced,
typhoon you come for what? Although you come, we wont get problem for we finished reinforcing....
All other activities such as community shows or children drawing contests are the success of the local peoples
creativeness and intelligence.

Contact details:
Guillaume Chantry, Coordinator,
Development Workshop France Hue Thua Thien Hue, Tel: 054 84 82 31, email: dwvn@dwf.org