08th September 2016 The Tonga Red Cross Society with the assistance of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent (IFRC) is hosting a three-day Emergency Shelter Kit (ESK) training to facilitate the ongoing provisions of shelter assistance after natural disasters.
The training was officially opened by the Minister of Inland Revenue and Customs Hon Tevita Lavemaau yesterday at Tonga’s Red Cross Office in Nuku’alofa.
Hon Lavemaau in his keynote address stated the importance of having such training in Tonga because of the aftermath of natural disasters that have struck the country and the region in the past.
“I thank the Tonga Red Cross and IFRC for providing Tonga the opportunity to have such training for the first time as it is a great impact to us nowadays for we’ve witnessed the influences of Natural Disasters year by year. That is the destruction of Cyclone Winston in Fiji which have caused not only lives but also shelters and the Red Cross with government have manage to provide temporary shelters to the victims,” he said.
ESK facilitator Mr Subesh Prasad from the IFRC Shelter in Suva said IFRC provided support to the Pacific Region in two ways.
“The first way is that we support the national societies in the shelter and preparedness, response and long term programming through resource training and technical assistance,” he said.
“The second activity is that IFRC is the shelter cluster convener in the Pacific which has been activated in Tonga by Tonga Red Cross and NEMO when a disaster strikes.”
Mr Prasad said IFRC conducted a survey in 11 national societies in the Pacific including Tonga to understand the existing level of Red Cross Society emergency shelter preparedness response capacity.
“The survey was conducted last year in August with 11 National societies in the region including Tonga. Emergency shelter preparedness and response capacity building to National society was one of the outcome of this survey that was done last year and that has triggered us and that has made us prepare ourselves to support the TRC in terms of Emergency shelter preparedness and response.”
“Tonga Red Cross has and will be responding to future disasters in emergency shelter toolkit, therefore this 3 days training is a preparedness towards effective and efficient response to the most vulnerable in need,” he said.
Shelter tool kits and tarpaulin is intended primarily for distribution to families to meet their shelter needs in emergency and recovery. Therefore it is important to build capacity of National Societies on use of emergency shelter and familiarize with the kit by training to guide along technicality surrounding effective construction during emergency stated the Tonga Red Cross Society.
Funded by the Australian Red Cross at least 25 participants from line ministries and NGOs that are directly involving in disaster response are taking part in the training.
IFRC supports Shelter and Settlements activities in the region aimed to maintain an adequate level of skills to its participants to share skills and experience which are needed to manage responses in their respective areas.
ENDS
Issued by the: Ministry of Meteorology, Energy, Information, Disaster Management, Environment, Climate Change and Communications