Thales Foundation and GeoHazards Society (GHS) have announced the nationwide launch of a first-of-its-kind School Safety Mobile Application that will allow school administrators to ‘write’ a School Disaster Management Plan (SDMP). The Android-based app was launched by Kamal Kishore, Member, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA); Prof Santosh Kumar, Executive Director, National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM) and Christophe Humphry, Chief Operating Officer, Thales in India and Hari Kumar, President, GeoHazards Society at the NIDM headquarters in New Delhi.
The pilot testing of the application took place in schools in Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh, Patna in Bihar and Aizwal in Mizoram before the formal launch.
This mobile application has been developed as part of the project undertaken by GHS with the support from the Thales Foundation – an initiative that aims to draw on Thales’s innovative flair and technological expertise to benefit society in the areas of education and humanitarian crises. The project led by GHS and Charu Pandey – an employee volunteer from Thales in India started in July 2016. It focused on various aspects of school safety in Himachal Pradesh’s Kangra district. GHS conducted staff preparedness training programmes, students training programmes, developed school disaster preparedness plans and tested these plans with preparedness drills. A large number of school administrators, teachers and students were mobilised through this project.
Christophe Humphry, Chief Operating Officer, Thales in India, said, “We are proud to associate with GeoHazards Society and support this important project including the development of the School Safety Mobile Application. This resonates with our core mission of making the world a safer place through innovation and new technology.”
Hari Kumar, President, GeoHazards Society, said, “We are thankful to Thales for their support in this project and in bringing out this app that seeks to make a difference in school disaster preparedness in the country. This application will help fill an important unmet need in schools and help them develop the School Disaster Management Plans systematically.”
Over the years, Thales has been supporting various NGOs in India through local CSR initiatives and also group-level Foundation efforts. Some of them include Kutumb Foundation, Jagriti, Protsahan, Samarpan Foundation, among others.
