The Delta Disaster Education Project (DDEP) is a program designed to educate and prepare residents of rural communities throughout Eastern and Southern Arkansas in disaster and emergency preparedness. The Arkansas Delta is one of the most untouched places in the country when it comes to proper education. These communities suffer because of lack of resources to properly prepare for the unexpected, including money and people willing to do the educating.

The DDEP would be a project developed and managed by the American Red Cross of Greater Arkansas, Youth Council, and implemented in their 08-09 service year. The Youth Council aims to complete one type of community service each month, whether it is a transformative or human service, or maybe an open community training on safety and emergency. While local and internal service is still important, the Youth Council seeks to go beyond the city limits and reach out to a part of the state that is in the most need. In the past year alone, Arkansas has been hit by several severe storms, many producing tornadoes. Small rural towns such as Atkins and Dumas have been hit very hard; while response to these natural tragedies has been good, the communities would have benefited from having been better prepared and ready before disaster hit. The goal of the project would be to educate 500 people in each community; not only training them in the Red Cross' Disaster Preparedness presentation, Be Red Cross Ready, but also teaching them to educate others in their community. The basic training would highlight three easy ways to stay safe and be prepared for disasters in their community. We would distribute Red Cross brochures, as well as show people how to make their own disaster preparedness kit from home. Children can be engaged by helping families create an emergency plan and escape route. Encouraging positive family interaction will only benefit the communities being effected. The DDEP is a much needed project and can be executed by the existing Red Cross Youth Council based out of Little Rock. Travel expense is a necessary need for this project, that will prove to go a long way and the pay off will be when the communities are better prepared for disasters. Arkansas has already been affected by many tornadoes and floods; fires are an every day risk, and we also have a threat of earthquake from the New Madrid fault line, which recently caused friction in the northern Midwest. It is important that everyone is ready when the time comes and equally important that everyone has the right to the be educated on what could happen in emergency situations. The Red Cross Youth Council is prepared to educate the smaller, rural communities; 4 towns are a small place to start but it can help.

Hopefully as the project becomes successful, other youth councils can begin in each town to continue the education process.