It
is a beautiful Saturday morning and people are going about
their usual Saturday business affairs - going to the market,
doing the laundry, cleaning the house.
Everyone except
for three groups of persons from three rural communities
in Jamaica who have put aside their personal affairs for
the interest of their community and to deal with a very
important matter at hand – to
help their community prepare for disasters.
And so the business of disaster
preparedness began – putting
up signs; placing garbage receptacles in different places
in the community; building curb walls and fixing drainage
systems – all efforts aimed at reducing the effects
of a disaster, should one occur.
These groups of people are what
are known as Community Disaster Response Teams (CDRTs)
and they are working on micro-projects within their communities.
The CDRTs are community members who
have gone through extensive trainings and other capacity
building activities conducted by the Jamaica Red Cross through
a community based disaster preparedness project – DIPECHO
V.
The project is funded by the European
Commission Humanitarian Aid Office (DG ECHO) in partnership
with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent
Societies and aims to empower selected communities with basic
skills they will need to prepare for and respond to their
immediate needs in the aftermath of a major disaster, when
emergency services are not immediately available.
After a year of hard work, dedication
and commitment, numerous trainings, activities and busy
weekends, there are now seventy eight (78) community members
from six communities in Jamaica who have been trained as
CDRT members for this year’s
project.
The six communities are Toll Gate and
Amity Hall in Clarendon; Fruitful Vale in Portland; Mavis
Bank and Bull Bay in St. Andrew and Cave Valley in St. Ann.
The community members have been trained
in the areas of Disaster Management, Emergency First Aid,
Psychosocial Support, HIV Infection and Prevention, Light
Search and Rescue, Communication and Team Dynamics.
As CDRT members, these persons are now expected to lead the
community in disaster preparedness and mitigation activities.
They will be the ones who will issue
warnings within their communities, implement relevant activities,
assist other members to reach shelters immediately before
disasters and help respond to needs until outside assistance
is accessible.
Under the project, twenty-seven
(27) CDRT members who were trained under the previous year’s DIPECHO IV received
refresher’s training.
Part of the project also allowed the CDRTs to develop disaster
preparedness and response plans for their communities.
They
also had to create maps of their communities which show the
various resources, hazards, etc. These plans and maps will
be placed on a 4ft by 4ft aluminum sign and mounted at a
central point in the community where everyone can gain access
to them.
The CDRTs have not only been equipped
with skills but also the necessary equipment needed for
them to execute their duties.
These equipment include flashlights
with batteries, crowbars, gloves, raincoats, water boots,
helmets, megaphones, rope, shovels, whistles, clipboards
with notepads and First Aid kits.
They will also receive
reflective vests and T-shirts with ECHO, Jamaica Red Cross
and the Federation’s logo,
and identification cards so they can be easily identified.
Certificates of Completion will be handed over to the CDRT
members at a handing over ceremony to be held in April.
The
CDRT members will also get an opportunity to practise their
new skills and test their plans through simulation exercises.
The project, is a partnership with the Office of Preparedness
and Emergency Management (ODPEM), the Social Development
Commission (SDC) and the Jamaica Red Cross as the lead agency.
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