QRC to hold fifth disaster management camp in April

The camp will be organised in co-ordination with several Qatari institutions, governmental and non-governmental organisations, as well as the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the United Nations, and the Gulf Co-operation Council general secretariat.

A number of partners,  such as the Permanent Committee for Emergency, the Internal Security Force – Lekhwiya, the Qatar Armed Forces and the Scout and Guide Association of Qatar, will also support QRC efforts in the camp.

The camp will benefit a total of 250 trainees from Qatar and abroad.

QRC is working to create a culture of preparedness in order to respond to disasters around the world. It began preparing for the camp in October 2013.

Several institutions, government bodies and companies have been invited to participate in order to improve the effectiveness and attract new volunteers from among the employees of these entities who can be trained on how to prepare for disasters.

This year, the camp will have participants from more than 20 national societies in the GCC and Middle East and North Africa, as well as trained specialists and experts in the field of disaster management.

The Disaster Management Camp director Rashid bin Saad al-Mohannadi explained that the camp was effective not just at a national level but regionally.

The training will provide both theoretical and practical aspects. The theoretical section is an intensive training programme in the field of disaster management - briefing the trainees on international standards and concepts, such as psychological support, international humanitarian law, and restoring family links.

The practical aspect divides the participants into field teams, including an evaluation and field co-ordination team, a health team, a water and sanitation team, a nutrition and distribution team, an accommodation team, registration and logistics and media.

The teams will practise the management and operation of the camp throughout the training.

By the end of the camp, the teams will participate in a disaster response scenario in co-ordination with relevant partners in Qatar.

QRC has successfully organised four training camps in 2006, 2007, 2012 and 2013, resulting in the graduation of hundreds of volunteers who were later instrumental in helping the organisation respond to a number of external disasters.