BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – SIX thousand persons across the Federation will be better prepared to respond to disasters with the launch of a community capacity-building programme by the local Red Cross, NEMA and USAID.

Entitled “Readiness to Respond: Increased Disaster Preparedness Capacity through Enhanced Coordination and Community Awareness”, the project was formally launched earlier today (Nov. 27) at Red Cross Headquarters. The local plan is part of a wider regional initiative meant to benefit thousands of residents in Haiti, St. Lucia, The Bahamas and Antigua and Barbuda.

USAID is providing a budget of almost US$3M to support the project, which runs from September 2009 to August 2011.
Organisers will utilise a two-pronged approach to achieve the goal of reducing the number of deaths, injuries and impact from disasters. Local Disaster Coordinator Kerrie Greene noted the first phase would involve the strengthening of the national Red Cross, while the second would focus on enhancing the abilities of communities to mitigate potential disasters.

“There will be community awareness meetings, First Aid training and the development of a community disaster plan. The Red Cross will host a stakeholder meeting in which we will choose the six beneficiary communities of this project,” Greene explained.

“We will also implement response preparedness programmes and First Aid instructors training for our volunteers, as we enhance our recruitment and retention techniques,” she added.

During the launch, NEMA’s Carl Herbert recorded full support of his organisation’s partnership with the Red Cross, while Deputy Prime Minister Hon. Sam Condor expressed pleasure at the joint initiative. Audrey Mullings of the USAID’s Foreign Disaster Assistance Office was also present.

Natalie Fough, Branch leader of the St. Kitts Red Cross, spoke of the benefits the project would bring and encouraged residents to capitalise on the opportunities offered to them.

“Readiness to Respond will result in persons learning additional skills and becoming more empowered. You will become a stakeholder in your community and you will have greater appreciation for your surroundings, because you will now be aware of the potential hazards and risks to your community.

“The Red Cross is eager to get the project started and we hope that persons will recognise the importance of using this outside support to better themselves and their communities,” Fough stated.

According to Greene, implementation would begin in January after the target communities are chosen. Areas will be selected based on criteria established by the project documents.