In an effort to create more sustainable early warning systems, the National Emergency Management Organization (NEMO), partnered with the Cuban Embassy to conduct a ten-day capacity building workshop.

This initiative is part of the disaster management strategy of the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA), to increase the knowledge and output rate at a community level.

“With building resilience there are practical things that one can do to reduce vulnerability, to reduce risks, and to reduce the impact of hazards,” NEMO Director, Velda Joseph, said.

“We were able to identify a number of initiatives that we would like to address as a matter of priority. One of them was the issue of the multi-hazard risk assessment and we engaged our Cuban counterparts because we recognized that they have developed a very expert methodology in addressing hazard vulnerability and risk assessment.”

The team of eighteen Cuban representatives worked with a group of local professionals to implement the methodology taught at the workshop, in the community of Dennery. Students of the Sir Arthur Community College were privy to the conclusion of the workshop.

“This is not just for disaster management officers, but for every single person—from the youngest child who can understand to the oldest person who is able,” said Dr. Alexcia Cooke

Regional Technical Coordinator. “I’m not sure what the areas of training are at SALCC, but I’m sure some of you will become some of our teachers in various areas and you will also be part of the public and private sectors, and despite the category, every single person has a role to play.”

The Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA), the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), are currently working together to support the national systems in the seven Caribbean Countries namely, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominican Republic, Cuba and in a minor component Haiti.