GRCS PRESENTS WORKING TOOLS TO DISASTER VOLUNTEERS 17th June, 2019

The Upper East Regional branch of the Ghana Red Cross Society [GRCS] has presented assorted working tools to about 400 Disaster Risk Reduction volunteers from five communities in the Bongo District to enhance their efforts in mitigating the adverse effects of various forms of disasters.

The Rescue Tools as displayed

The Regional Manager of the GRCS Mr. Paul Woomah, who did the presentation in the Bongo-Soe community on Monday, mentioned the beneficiary communities as Azorsidaana, Asebre, Ania-Kunkua, Akebka and Atonobugoro. He disclosed that the presentation had come on the back of a successful training of the volunteers that was carried out in the latter parts of 2018 by his outfit in conjunction with the National Disaster Management Organisation [NADMO] and the Ghana National Fire Service.

Mr. Woomah said each of the five beneficiary communities would receive a package comprising 15 pieces of First Aid kits, five live jackets, 15 welling boots, two mega phones, two wheel barrows, 15 Red Cross jackets, one bicycle, two life-buoy tubes fitted with a long rope, a fire extinguisher and 15 cutlasses among others. He added that the package also included a hand-washing stand installed with a bucket water system with a soap compartment for distribution to some basic schools in the area to improve hygiene and sanitation in the school environment. The schools included the Feo Junior High School-B, Agomo Primary, Ayelbia Junior High, Apatanga Primary and Vincent Memorial Primary.  

The Red Cross Manager noted that, it was a cost-effective practice to spend smaller amounts of cash in advance to mitigate disasters than to be complacent for them to happen and to spend even much huge sums of money fixing the destruction often left behind after disasters strike. He remarked “while one Dollar can be used to do disaster prevention, it could cost up to seven Dollars to undertake repairs”. He therefore called on government to place emphasis on disaster risk reduction and devote some resources to that effect through state agencies such as NADMO and the Ghana National Fire Service as his out, the GRCS was ready and prepared to team up with them. 

Mr. Woomah commended the Swiss Red Cross for the tremendous financial and technical support it has been extending to the GRCS through the decades in the execution of its mandate. He however appealed for expansion of similar support to the Talensi, Binduri, Kassena-Nankana and Nabdam districts. Meanwhile, he also thanked the Bongo Assembly and the Paramount Chief for Bongo, Naba Salifu Lamyaarum for assisting his outfit with community entry and other forms of engagements across the district. 

Bongo District Chief Executive [DCE] Hon. Peter Ayinbisa Ayamga who witnessed the presentation expressed appreciation to the GRCS for the gesture. He observed that the package came in good time to augment what the government was already doing to resource NADMO and similar entities of state to help reduce the impact of unavoidable disasters in the district.

Hon. Ayinbisa pledged that the NADMO unit of the Assembly will be in constant touch with the volunteers to ensure that, the items were applied properly for the attainment of the intended purpose.  

Meanwhile at on the onset of the presentation ceremony, the Disaster Coordinator with the Swiss Red Cross Alhaji Adams Abudulai, gave a refresher briefing to the volunteers by running them through the package item by item and the particular use of each. He said it was imperative for the volunteers to periodically remind themselves of the appropriate use of the implements so as not to forget their rightful application to save lives during disasters.

In his remarks, Bongo District Director of NADMO Mr. Clement Akongo, disclosed that the district had as many as 27 disaster-prone communities and called for a scale-up of the Red Cross support to cover the remaining 22 communities.