FBS-Karangmalang The English Language Education Department's Community Service Program, English for Holiday (EFH), carries a different theme this year. With the motto "Know Disaster, No Disaster", EFH provides an innovative concept of language education as a means for disaster mitigation. The reason is that disaster mitigation is a necessity for the people of Yogyakarta who actually live in areas with potential disasters, such as earthquakes and the eruption of Mount Merapi. Even the theme of this year's EFH is a form of UNY's support for the government program which proclaimed 2012 as the year of disaster mitigation. According to Ella Wulandari, M.A, chairman of the committee, raising awareness to be friendly with disasters from an early age needs to be implemented through fun learning. "In the EFH program, children are taught to anticipate and overcome simple problems when a disaster occurs," explained Ella.

For two weeks, kindergarten to high school students learned languages ​​while mitigating disasters through class activities, campus grand tours, barbecue parties, and field trips to the Merapi Volcano Museum. EFH teachers introduced various elements of disasters such as transportation, profession, and disaster management efforts to the participants. English learning activities were applied in the use of language that shows sympathy, mutual help, and gratitude. Also, participants from grade 5 to high school levels conducted a disaster evacuation simulation at the Merapi Museum (13/7).

With the most participants over the past few years, EFH still shows a different concept on its closing day. Two hundred and forty-five participants were involved in the musical drama “Cinderella” at the UNY Auditorium (14/7). In this drama, the participants showed their courage and talent in movement songs, acting, video simulation, poetry reading, news reporting, and master of ceremony. This closing activity also ended with a graduation ceremony as a marker of the success of the participants in participating in two weeks of learning at EFH. (Feb)