The American Red Cross has been working with the Vietnam Red Cross for several years to help mitigate these risks and to help communities become better prepared for when disasters strike. Our most recent initiative focuses on school and community-based disaster preparedness education programs. This includes training for first responders as well as awareness-raising activities and training for teachers, students and other members of the community. Additional activities include the development of community disaster plans, and the establishment of caches of equipment for community emergency response teams. Through these activities, communities in Vietnam can become more resilient and will be able to more easily respond when disasters occur in the future. This project, which began in late 2010, aims to benefit nearly 140,000 people.