The Civil Defence Commission (CDC) has trained more than 70 officials from varying fields in Region Four in Disaster Risk Management over the past two weeks and plans to initiate its voluntary arm on Disaster Risk Reduction Day 2013.
“The Officials received training in the specific areas of Shelter Management, Damage Assessment and Needs Analysis and Emergency Operations Centre Management,” a press release from the Government Information Agency (GINA) said.
Recently the Commission has intensified its work; hosting a number of capacity hosting and training sessions in several areas of Disaster Risk Management such as Exercise Flood Gate 2012. Operations and Training Officer Major Kester Craig said that based on feedback from participants, the CDC realised the importance of the training, particularly when recalling the situation in 2005, 2006 and the issue of continuous flooding since 2005 in different areas and the effect of the rise in sea level due to climate change.
“They recognised the need for it and they’re asking for even follow-up training…we too recognised the need to conduct follow-up training with the persons that we initially trained and to conduct exercises that will test their knowledge of what was learnt,” Craig explained. He noted that at the end of the session there was a final exercise in emergency operations centre management simulation which drew on the knowledge of the other two areas of training.
According to Craig, it was only during the simulation exercise that it was noted how unprepared persons were for emergency situations such as a flooding. Craig said they realised the importance of systems being enacted which would include data on agriculture, population, schools, health centres and their capacity among other things. Further, that exercise revealed to participants the importance of such training and what their roles should be in disaster management.
“Definitely the training was successful and the participants were very enthusiastic for the training…they are hoping that we go back into the region and invite them to other training sessions…we also identified personnel with the capacity to actually make instructors so that we can have them conduct these training within the regions which decentralises our responsibility and at the same time promotes disaster risk management at a faster pace so it can go across the region,” Craig said.
Disaster Risk Reduction Day
Craig also said that a symposium is planned for the Guyana International Conference Centre where the CDC’s voluntary arm will be officially launched. “We have a volunteer corps which comprises of many skilled young professionals who are dedicated to the fight against disaster risk management…these individuals are exposed also to training and augment the work of the commission,” he said. Persons interested in becoming volunteers and lending their professional expertise to the CDC’s work can uplift application forms from the Commission’s Thomas Lands office during working hours or can obtain same on DRR day at the Conference Centre. Disaster Risk Reduction Day 2013 will be observed under the theme ‘Women and girls- the invisible force of resilience’.
