A lively National Intervention Team (NITs) training course was held in Suriname from May 15-19 as part of its disaster management programme.

The participants represented the full spectrum of men and women between 20 -70 years.

With few exceptions most of the courses were delivered in Dutch by skilled Red Cross Representatives.

Mrs. Nicole Williams represented the Caribbean regional representation office of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (the Federation) covering policies and simulation exercises components with support from the French Red Cross.

The training benefitted greatly from the experience of the Falwata floods of 2006 as many of the NITS “cut their teeth in this disaster.” This made for lively discussions on logistics, health care and maintaining ‘independence’ to name a few.

“I really learned a lot” said Wilhelmina, a teacher who travelled 3 hours from the eastern side of the country to attend. 

Because of these distances the group was hosted in Paranam for six days courtesy SURALCO Ltd, the bauxite and alumina manufacturers which provided free accommodation and excellent training facilities.

The Suriname Red Cross emphasised planning and preparation, not just response, to its’ NITs. Similar to many Caribbean territories, the NITs faced the challenge of changing the mindset in some vulnerable communities from dependency to empowerment.

The training proved timely as the Red Cross recently responded to flooding in villages at the upper Marowijne and Suriname rivers.