The Civil Defence Commission (CDC) last week handed over the Cuban Model Risk Reduction Management Centre (RRMC) in Lethem to the Regional Democratic Council of Region 9 (Upper Takutu/Upper Essequibo).
A release from the CDC said that the RRMC was officially handed over to the Region 9 Chairman Wilson Laurentino by Major Kester Craig, Operations/Training Officer of the CDC.
The centre is equipped with the necessary resources and appropriate technologies to better monitor the impact of hazards in the region. These included computers, GIS software, database, communication equipment, office furnishing and supplies, maps and charts etc. The RRMC will enhance the Region’s DRM capacity, allowing for the early detection of hazard impact and proactive management of systems to reduce risk.
To manage and complement the RRMC, the CDC also conducted disaster risk management (DRM) training for members of the Region 9 branch of the Civil Defence Commission Volunteer Corps (CDC VC).
From January 13-15, 2014, facilitators from the CDC Operations/Training Department, conducted community-based disaster risk management (CBDRM) training with sixteen members of the volunteer corps in Lethem.
This CBDRM workshop was geared towards building DRM capacity at the community level, by equipping participants with the knowledge on how to conduct community profiling, disaster risk assessment, disaster risk reduction (DRR) planning, comprehensive disaster management (CDM), CBDRM project implementation, and project monitoring and evaluation.
From January 16-17, 2014, the sixteen volunteers were also trained how to conduct damage assessment and needs analysis (DANA).
They were taught how to effectively conduct DANA during the three stages of a disaster (before, during and post impact). According to the release, the trained volunteers will complement the RRMC operations.
Captain Sean Welcome was the facilitator of the CBDRM workshop and he was joined by Major Craig to facilitate the DANA workshop.
The volunteers came from Lethem, St Ignatius, Tabatinga, Sand Creek and Massara Village.
Lethem, Sand Creek, Massara Village, along with Mickey’s Landing in the South Pakairaimas are the early warning points for the RRMC in Region 9.
The CDC was supported by the United Nations Development Programme’s Caribbean Risk Management Initiative.
