Capacity Building of Region 4 Volunteers – Water and Sanitation Hygiene (WASH)

Volunteers from Region 4 were able to benefit from training in key areas related to disaster risk management, in an attempt to provide them with the knowledge needed to ensure proper hygiene and sanitation, especially during disasters and emergency situations. The volunteers participated in a Water and Sanitation Hygiene (WASH) Workshop, conducted on Saturday November 3, 2012 at the Civil Defence Commission, Thomas Road, Thomas Lands. The workshop was convened by the Civil Defence Commission Volunteer Corps in collaboration with the United Nation’s Children Fund (UNICEF) and the Ministry of Health/Education.

This workshop was conducted by two facilitators: Mr. Ian Jones, Emergency Operations Specialist, UNICEF, and Ms. ………………………………….
Major Kester Craig, the Operations/Training Officer of the CDC and the Volunteer Coordinator of the CDC VC, made opening remarks at the workshop urging the volunteers to learn as much as possible, as this was a very relevant area within the work within the Corps. He also expressed gratitude to the UNICEF and the Ministry of Education for their support and willingness to contribute towards much needed capacity building for the Georgetown chapter of the Volunteer Corps.
Over 20 volunteers from around the capital city, Georgetown, were in attendance at this workshop. These persons expressed their appreciation for such training, indicating that they had learnt a great deal in the areas of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene. The group was in agreement that WASH is a related and important area in responding to, managing and preventing disasters, and they vowed to integrate their new-found knowledge into their work within the CDC VC.