Island Administrators for Freeport, Joseph Ferguson and Dale Gelin, both attended the morning session of the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training session on Wednesday, September 7 — a five-day programme of instruction that began on Monday, September 5 and will run through Friday, September 9 at the Foster B. Pestaina Centre of Christ the King Anglican Church.
Although currently assigned to the City of Freeport, Administrator Gelin was originally assigned to East Grand Bahama following the devastation of Hurricane Dorian in 2019. Because of this, he witnessed some of the destruction left in the storm’s wake.
“I believe this training is essential and necessary to help individuals prepare for disasters and know how to properly respond to disasters. I think it’s a good initiative and once individuals embrace it, they will be able to help people within their communities in the event there is a natural disaster.”
Participants for the training session were selected through community forum groups. They were invited to be a part of the training exercise, recognizing the need for the training in the communities. Administrator Gelin hopes more such training sessions will be available, as people tend to lose interest and/or move away.
He explained why he and Administrator Ferguson were present, “I felt it necessary to come to not only to observe what is going on, but to lend my support and show persons that as NEMA agents, we are directly involved in what is going on with NEMA and we want to see proper planning and what is being done in the event of a natural disaster, and ensure individuals are fully prepared and equipped with the necessary information to be able to effectively respond in the event of a natural disaster.”
From: Bahamas Information Services
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