KOCHI: In a pioneering initiative aimed at ensuring quick response to emergency situations, ‘community response to emergency and disaster’ (CRED) teams will now carry out initial relief and rescue work. The units will comprise volunteers selected from residents’ associations, housing colonies and flats, who will be trained as ‘first responders’.
A brainchild of Magics, an NGO, the initiative is being implemented in collaboration with Kochi Corporation, IMA Kochi branch, District Disaster Management Authority and Ernakulam District Residents’ Association Apex Council.
In the two weeks since the programme’s launch, volunteers from a residents’ association in Kaloor have been trained in basic disaster response skills and equipped to deal with emergencies.
As ‘first responders’, the volunteers have been trained in administering first aid, following which they will help the person and subsequently shift them to the hospital.
Each CRED unit will have a section to respond to distress calls. Upon receiving such a call, the section will immediately alert all trained volunteers. Once the volunteers receive the information, they will rush to the house/flat of the person in distress.
“As of now, we have six registrations. More are in the discussion stage. We have already trained an association in Kaloor. We also have hospitals included in the project to reach out to in the event of disasters and emergencies. We are now focussing on the Infopark/ Technopark areas. At the end of the training programme, there will be at least 20 volunteers adept at giving first aid and with basic disaster management training, in every residential area or flat,” said Boniface Jasper, secretary, Magics.
Volunteer training
Magics NGO will train the volunteers with the help of the District Disaster Management Authority in basic life support, first aid, fire and safety and rescue efforts. There will also be a dedicated emergency number for the community. The CRED will also help maintain essential materials and equipment for first aid in all the associations that become part of the programme.
“We have been looking at ways to improve the response time during mishaps and help people at the earliest. With CRED, we aim to provide help on time,” said Dr Praveen G Pai, a geriatrician working with the project.
Fighting fake news
False information regarding various diseases and disasters is common now. With CRED, the aim is to provide a steady source of credible information through the communication network. “If CRED becomes a network, it would benefit the state and enable the authorities to disseminate the right information in case of an emergency or a disaster,” said Boniface.