by Marie Kauna – EMTV Online, Port Moresby
Since its establishment in 1976, PNG Red Cross has been a leader in all disaster and emergency calls in Papua New Guinea, providing emergency response services and building resilient communities for those vulnerable to disaster strikes.
With its vision to help enhance the lives of those affected in the country from natural disasters, emergency and ethnic conflicts, the organisation has active volunteers and staff present 14 fourteen provinces.
These staff and volunteers have been the backbone of the organisations operation since its establishment, and today they continue to help the organisation in delivering much needed services.
To help boost and enhance the individual knowledge and capacity of each volunteer and staff, PNG Red Cross has facilitated a four day workshop on ‘Emergency Response Training’. More than 58 staff and volunteers participated in this training.
During the workshop, gathered participants were taught:
- The different phases of disaster management
- When and how to provide assistance in the impacted communities
- How to assess and analyse a situation and
- How to report using a right channel to mobilise support
According to Michael Sembenombo, National Disaster Management Coordinator, the training was an eye opener for many of the participants and is happy the organisation now has many trained staff and volunteers.
Since its establishment in 2013 (training), a total of nine branches consisting of 180 members have completed this training. Four branches with their members are yet to get this training.
The workshop was supported by the Australian Red Cross, New Zealand Red Cross and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).
