Suriname facilitator helping with local Red Cross training
A COMMUNITY Based Health and First Aid (CBHFA) workshop began yesterday, at Guyana Red Cross Society (GRCS) Headquarters, Eve Leary, Georgetown, with the aim of preparing national volunteers to be change agents in communities country wide.
At the opening, General-Secretary,  Mrs. Dorothy Fraser, said it was the second of its kind to be hosted by GRCS and incorporated different methodologies and approaches to training in communities.
“This is a continuation of projects already underway, using different approaches, as we want to make sure that, in all of the outreaches across the regions, the community based approach is used…,” she explained.
Fraser indicated that community involvement is of importance, especially at the advent of the rainy season when several health and environmental issues may arise within communities and members need to be aware  of their responsibilities.
She said the training will be a learning-by-participating exercise, where all the participants would be exposed to different approaches involving regional authorities, as well as civil society organisations.
About the expected outcome, Fraser stated: “It is asking the participants  to be agents for change and, by extension, the community members, as well, through the programmes offered.”
She said the seven-day programme consists of four modules, three of which are standard in all communities, including spreading information about the GRCS movement, community mobilisation and volunteer and capacity assessments (VCA), with the remaining four components varying according to individual community needs.
In order to guarantee the success of the exercise, Fraser said GRCS has invited Training Coordinator of Suriname Red Cross, Ms. Claudia  Lie-A-Tsoen, to act as one of the facilitators.
Lie-A-Tsoen said the CBHFA process has been used in Suriname for the past year and yielded a tremendous amount of success, in terms of community involvement in health and safety initiatives.
“The goal is to create community awareness and we are seeing progress now, in terms of our new approach,” she offered.
Those taking part in the continuing sessions were drawn from different regions in Guyana and will be privy to several innovative techniques, including demonstrations, storytelling, drama, case studies and reflective learning, all of which, it is hoped, will assist them in ensuring that the communities they visit will be better prepared to be agents for change.