Jamaica Red Cross prepares communities for Hurricane season

As is customary during this season the Jamaica Red Cross (JRC) reached out in a special way to those who needed help the most.

With just a few days gone in the Hurricane season, community members from six communities in four parishes of Jamaica are ready and equipped to help their community should a hurricane or any other disaster affect them.

These community members are known as Community Disaster Responses Teams (CDRTs) and were selected to go through extensive trainings and other capacity building activities conducted by the Jamaica Red Cross (JRC).

The teams were equipped at a Handing Over Ceremony held at the JRC National Headquarters on May 31, 2007.

The ceremony also marked the close of the year long community based disaster preparedness project - DIPECHO V. The DIPECHO V project includes participatory learning through Vulnerability and Capacity Assessments (VCA), Community Disaster Response Team (CDRT) training and the development of community disaster plans.

The project aimed to empower selected communities with the basic skills needed to prepare for and respond to their immediate needs in the aftermath of a major disaster, when emergency services are not immediately available.

The six communities which benefited from the project are Toll Gate and Amity Hall in Clarendon; Fruitful Vale in Portland; Mavis Bank & Bull Bay in St. Andrew and Cave Valley in St. Ann.

As part of the project, the CDRT members were trained in the areas of Disaster Management, Emergency First Aid, Psychosocial Support, HIV Infection and Prevention, Light Search and Rescue, Communication and Team Dynamics.

Some of the equipment they received at the ceremony included flashlights with batteries, crowbars, gloves, raincoats, water boots, helmets, megaphones, rope, shovels, whistles, clipboards with notepads and First Aid kits. They also received reflective vests and tee-shirts with ECHO and Red Cross logos as well as ID cards so they can be easily identified.

The CDRT members also got an opportunity to practice their new skills and test their plans through simulation exercises conducted by the Office of Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM).

Local partners in the project included the Jamaica Red Cross as the lead agency, ODPEM and the Social Development Commission (SDC), all of which had representatives giving greetings at the ceremony.

All three agencies have partnered before in other disaster preparedness activities including DIPECHO IV. The project was funded by the European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO) and supported by the International Federation of Red Cross & Red Crescent Societies (International Federation).

ECHO has funded previous Red Cross CBDP related activities in the Caribbean. DIPECHO – the disaster preparedness unit- was launched in 1996 to assist vulnerable communities living in the main disaster-prone regions of the world.

Jamaica Red Cross is a member of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies which has 186 member societies worldwide and continues its endeavours to improve the lives of the most vulnerable.