SEVERAL persons from agencies in Region 5 (Mahaica/Berbice) participated, last week, in a five-day programme on disaster risk management.

The seminar was organised by the local Civil Defence Commission (CDC), in collaboration with the Office for Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
The venue was the boardroom of the Regional Democratic Council at Fort Wellington, West Coast Berbice and participants were drawn from staff of the RDC; the 10 Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs); Guyana Water Inc. (GWI); Guyana Fire Service (GFS); Guyana Police Force (GPF); Digicel and Guyana Telephone & Telegraph Company (GT&T; Fort Wellington and Mahaicony Hospitals; Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB); Mahaica/Mahaicony/Abary/Agricultural Development Authority (MMA/ADA) and Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo), said Regional Information Officer Sandie Ross-Hendricks.
Facilitators of the September 9 to 14 exercise were Major Kester Craig, Operations/Training Officer and Captain Sean Welcome, Assistant Operations/Training Officer, both of the CDC and Mrs. Susan Lewis-Clarke USAID/OFDA Shelter Management Instructor.
The topics dealt with included Shelter Management, Damage Assessment and Needs Analysis and Emergency Operations Centre Management.
Each of those who took part was awarded a certificate of participation at the conclusion and Retired Colonel Chabilall Ramsarup, CDC Director General handed over a ‘Disaster Operations Box’, containing maps, stationery and  a State Board for use in a Regional Emergency Operation Centre, to Regional Chairman B. Bisnauth.
The CDC, which is the lead agency in the field of disaster risk reduction, was established in 1982 to make plans and conduct operations to deal with all types of disasters in Guyana and to ensure effective collaboration and information exchange between all disaster-reduction actors in Guyana.