Mama Ida Odinga has urged the National Government to prioritize disaster management education across all levels of learning, stressing that preparedness should begin long before calamities strike.

Speaking in Bondo, Siaya County, during a visit by environmentalists and climate change professionals, Ida emphasized that disasters are not confined to one setting but occur everywhere from roads and lakes to homes and schools.

“We should not always wait for the disaster to happen to be able to look around for how we can manage it now,” she said.

She highlighted the wide range of disasters that continue to affect communities, including road accidents, fires, landslides, and earthquakes.

“Disaster is a disaster,” she noted, underscoring that the impact is often devastating regardless of its form.

Ida appealed directly to the Ministry of Education to integrate disaster management into the national curriculum.

She argued that teaching children about preparedness from an early age would instill lifelong awareness and resilience.

“Disaster management should be a subject that is taught at all education levels, taught to everybody, so that children as they grow up they know there can be disaster and that disaster can be managed,” she said.

Her remarks come at a time when Kenya continues to grapple with recurring tragedies, from road crashes to flooding, which claim lives and disrupt livelihoods.

Experts have long warned that a lack of preparedness and public awareness worsens the impact of such events.

Ida’s call adds weight to ongoing conversations about strengthening Kenya’s disaster response systems, shifting focus from reactive measures to proactive education and community preparedness.