Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Capacity building training on disaster management

Staff Reporter

Information compiled and released as handbook

CHENNAI: Forty representatives of social welfare organisations working in tsunami affected areas across 12 districts underwent a capacity building training recently to prepare themselves to manage disaster and rehabilitate the affected.

Organised by Tamil Nadu Voluntary Health Association, the training programme highlighted steps to manage disasters such as floods and cyclones.

The participants were project coordinators from districts including Tuticorin, Thanjavur, Cuddalore, Villupuram and Kancheepuram.

They were trained by resource persons from various organisations on the types of disasters that India faced, their impact and on how to be prepared for such disasters.

J.P. Saulina Arnold, executive director of the association, said that besides prevention measures the NGO co-ordinators also learnt to identify the vulnerable section of the affected areas such as senior citizens, women and children.

The representatives were also trained on rescue operations, told whom to contact during such calamities and trained to cater to every need of the affected, including distributing food and other relief materials, organising medical camps and rehabilitation measures, she said.

The training programme, which is on for a year now, was organised for different levels of social workers.

The directors of the social welfare organisations have completed their training. The field workers will be the next batch to undergo the training, Ms. Arnold said. The coordinators would, in turn, train the local community workers.

The programme will also have a specific action plan drawn out for every district.

Ms. Arnold said the next part of the training programme would provide practical sessions on identifying signals of disasters and safe places for rehabilitation.

Ms. Arnold has compiled the information and released a handbook on disaster management.

The book gives details of the special needs of the aged and children.

Besides listing out resource institutions, the book provides information on the rights of victims and how to prepare awareness handbills on calamities.

Ms. Arnold said the idea of publishing the handbook was to provide written material to NGOs working and training in disaster affected areas.

These organisations face difficulties in gathering material otherwise. The book is priced at Rs.100.

For details, contact 044 - 26450462 or 26479585.

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