Oistins association gets disaster ready

Effective disaster mitigation training and vital emergency protocols must be taught at the community level, in order to have clear and practical responses in the event of emergency disaster situations.

This was the message delivered by Director of the Department of Emergency Management (DEM), Kerry Hinds, on the opening day of the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Basic Training Course for members of the Oistins Bay Garden Association Inc. at the DEM’s headquarters on Monday.

The CERT training programme is designed to train volunteers in basic disaster response skills such as team organisation, disaster preparedness, fire safety, light search and rescue, first aid, water and sanitisation hygiene (WASH) and psycho-social training.

The training programme is being sponsored in part by the Organisation of American States (OAS) Department of Sustainable Development, and forms part of an initiative with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in the United States, in building the resilience of small tourism-dependent nations in the Caribbean to  disasters.

Hinds told participants of the inaugural programme, which will run until September 13, that it will cover two areas DEM deemed significant for Barbados in national emergencies.

“Two of the areas identified in our Disaster Risk Management Country Work Programme include strengthening preparedness mitigation and response capacity, as well as strengthening community resilience. As such, the Department of Emergency Management and the National Emergency Management System have been spearheading capacity-building initiatives which have a focus on preparing and readying communities for response and ultimately improving and strengthening community resilience.

“We see this [CERT] programme as one such opportunity really to further our agenda of building a resilient Barbados. It is important that we entrust the community with the necessary tools to help themselves, and in turn assist the national system,” Hinds explained.

In expressing gratitude to the OAS and FEMA for sponsoring and partnering with Barbados’ National Emergency Management System in building capacity at the community and national level, Hinds added that Barbados, like other small island developing states, had reiterated its commitment to addressing those key areas by agreeing to integrate them into policies, plans, programmes and budgets at all levels.

She added that Barbados had made significant contributions to this process through its active participation in various consultations at the national, regional and global level, as well as gained considerable experience through the implementation of the Disaster Risk Reduction Agenda.

Sustainable Officer with the OAS Department of Sustainable Development, Charlene Solozano, explained that the CERT programme was designed to empower communities and build partnerships in the public and private sectors.

She added that the programme was also designed to reduce dependency on government in the event of a disaster by empowering communities and local businesses through expanded disaster preparedness and response capabilities.

Consultant with the DEM and head of the District Emergency Organisations, Selwyn Brooks, encouraged participants to maximise the benefits of the training they would receive, noting that the country needs to further boost its cadre of trained emergency disaster personnel, in light of recent heightened weather activity in the region.

“It is timely because we are in the middle of the hurricane season and from the forecasts, it is a possibility that we can be further impacted by weather systems that will be approaching the island around this time.

“The information you will gather from this exercise will build that level of resilience, so that when we speak about sustainability you will be able to put what you have learnt over the next seven to eight sessions into practical usage. You will be able to sustain your individual businesses and, at the end of the day, offer that level of community resilience that the DEM so readily espouses from time to time.”

Meantime, chairperson of the Oistins Bay Garden Inc., Kemar Harris, encouraged those undergoing training to share their knowledge with others.

“Knowledge is power only when it is shared,” he said. (SB)