Lack of Preparedness for Disaster in Schools Addressed

Wednesday May 4, 2011

Schools that want to heed Civil Defence messages to “be prepared” but have no idea where to start will welcome the launch of Plan2Survive, a New Zealand company that provides ready-made survival kits for homes, work and school with enough food, water, warmth, and shelter to get through for at least three days in a disaster.

Founder Brent Agnew, an ex-army serviceman and keen hunter and tramper started Plan2Survive when it became very clear that although he knew how to get equipped for a Civil Defence emergency with his army experience, not many others around him did.

“It really struck me how there are all these campaigns aimed at motivating people to get ready for when disaster inevitably strikes, and yet very few people actually have an emergency survival kit in their home, office, or school,” Mr Agnew says. “The reality is that many of us won’t be at home when disaster strikes, and we are very likely to be separated from our family,” he says. “Parents want to know that schools are equipped in a Civil Defence emergency to look after their children until the family can get to them,” Agnew says.

“I have been appalled by a lot of the existing emergency survival kits that are on the market – so using skills I developed in the army and time spent “out bush” on hunting and tramping trips, I formulated what I believe are the ultimate in survival kits.”

Agnew and his son Anton have developed classroom survival kits that include enough food, water, shelter and warmth for a classroom of 25 – 30 students. They also include a portable toilet. Schools are encouraged to ask parents to contribute payment towards the kits, to help ensure their child’s school is able to be fully equipped in an emergency.

As well as the classroom kits, Plan2Survive also provides one to four person 72hr Backpack Survival Kits for a home evacuation situation, two person or four person mega-kits that contain more luxury items and tools, and 10 person office kits that include two portable toilets and a pry bar.

Agnew says that with the frequency that natural disasters seem to be occurring at the moment, he and his team are doing everything they can to raise awareness of the kits so that Kiwis can be properly equipped. “There has never been a better time to get prepared for that natural disaster that might occur “some day”, because for many people, some day is here.”

For more information visit www.plan2survive.co.nz .

ENDS

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