The following is an article written following a visit to some of the communities in northern Trinidad, which the Trinidad and Tobago Red Cross hopes to engage in its Disaster Management programme which is funded by the European Commission Humanitarian Department (ECHO).
A team of officials from the Trinidad and Tobago Red Cross and two representatives of the Caribbean Regional Representation Office recently visited several communities in northern Trinidad, which the Trinidad and Tobago Red Cross hopes to engage in its Disaster Management programme.
The first visit was to the Toco Trust which works in the community of Toco and has several rural projects such as crop farming, animal husbandry and a community managed restaurant and lodge. The purpose of this visit was to link the Red Cross with a community based local initiative, which trains villagers and improves their lives. The most important aspect was the fact that the villagers themselves manage all the activities and this allows them to gain valuable skills.
The Toco Trust, which also has a community radio station, helps to provide information and entertainment for the communities in that part of the country. Communities in Matelot and Tobago have radio coverage. Still the underlying feature here was the fact that the community managed and operated this radio network entirely using its own members. The radio station offered a broad range of topical issues and some educational programmes.
The Red Cross has proposed that they (the Trust and the Trinidad and Tobago Red Cross) sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) whereby they provide First Aid and disaster preparedness training in the communities.
.It is envisaged that a core group from the Trust will become Trainer of Trainers and therefore pass on their skills to the local community. This is particularly important as this community and the surrounds have been recently subjected to local flooding and heavy rainfall.
The next stop for the team was the Matelot Composite Secondary School. The principal, Mrs Look Chow, received the team and outlined what she saw as the problems that affected the school and the community.
She pointed out that the river bridge, which forms a vital link to the school is extremely narrow. Cars cannot cross the bridge or ambulances. She cited the fact that several months ago, the bridge was submerged under water due to heavy rainfall. As a result more than half the pupils and some teachers were stranded.
Mrs Look Chow said she was quite happy that the Red Cross had chosen their community to train in First Aid and disaster preparedness since she noted that Matelot was subject to many landslides and flooding and was often “cut off” from the rest of the island. “The training will prove to be very valuable in our community. At least we will have trained persons in First Aid and disaster management and could help us when we get into difficulty.”
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