Saniquellie, Nimba County – The Liberia National Red Cross Society has ended a week long emergency response refresher training (ERT) for its emergency response volunteers and chapter response teams in Saniquellie, Nimba County with a mock simulation drill on emergency response.
Fifty-one participants were retrained from the Red Cross fifteen chapters.
The training was aimed at building the capacity of the Liberian Red Cross volunteers and staff in effectively responding to emergency situations in the communities.
The refresher training for our first aiders and emergency response teams provides more than the knowledge and skills to effectively respond – it also provides them the confidence to act when needed.
“Having the skills to act immediately in an emergency situation can help save lives and reduce the impact of injury.”
Whether in the place of work, neighborhood, school or recreational place, people encounter situations that are harmful. The need for life-saving intervention cannot be ignored.
“We are training our staff to act on, prevent, and manage life’s emergencies,” said Christopher Olu Johnson, the Manager for Disaster Management.
Participants at the refresher training made presentations and practical demonstration on several topics, including introduction to first aid, shock, wounds, bleeding and joint injuries, disaster loss and damage needs assessment, humanitarian reporting and fund-raising, case studies and disaster communications.
Others were the terms and concept of disaster management and gender base violence as linked to emergency operations, etc.
Ariminta Nagbe, one of the participants and first aid volunteers from the Red Cross Sinoe chapter said, the training was a great help to her, tremendously impacting her with more knowledge to respond to emergency in the communities.
“I am going back home with new knowledge and confidence to help my community. With the knowledge I have achieved here, I will be effective in responding to situations that pose threat to the lives of our people in the communities,” says Ariminta.
According to Ariminta, she will replicate the knowledge by training other colleagues in her chapter on how to assist in emergency situations in Sinoe County.
It is expected that the communities become safer through the services of the Red Cross emergency response trainees and the chapter response officers as they get new skills to move in the communities to reduce life threatening situations.
Augustine Ndebeh, who is the Red Cross chapter response officer in Lofa County, says the training has reawaken his spirit to work more in improving lives in the communities.
“This year’s refresher training is very extraordinary,” says Augustine; “I never knew the difference between disasters and hazards and how to respond to each of them, but now I have understood and I am prepared to put under control any situation of this kind in my communities.”
During the training, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Cooperation Delegate, Tamador Hassan outlined some of the numerous supports of the ICRC to the Liberian Red Cross and pledged more collaboration with the National Society.
Tamador said ICRC’s is supporting several staff and providing funds for programs of the Liberian Red Cross to make the National Society capable of reducing vulnerabilities in Liberia.
The Liberian Red Cross Program Director, Ambullai Perry said the Red Cross will keep striving to complement government’s effort in responding to disasters or emergencies in the communities.
The Director of Program Ambullai Perry said “being a part of the solution in Liberia, the Liberian Red Cross is here, ready and able to offer First Aid knowledge and skills to everyone for response and to also build the confidence act”.
According to Director Perry, the ERT training is part of the Liberian Red Cross annual plan in empowering its volunteers and staff to become robust in their services in the communities.
He lauded the ICRC for its sponsorship and the continued support to the programs of the Liberian Red Cross.
