As part of their annual activities, Kairasu Federation, a Child Fund affiliated organisation recently concluded a two-day capacity-building on sanitation, hygienic and disaster prevention and mitigation for Village Development Committee members from Kombo South.
Speaking at the forum held at Kairasu conference hall in Jambanjelly, Mr. Lang Dibba, Kairasu Federation Manager spoke at length on the importance of the forum, adding that this initiative i.e. capacitating VDC executives to prevent disaster and environmental sanitation is something that’s habitual to Kairasu, considering the importance of the subject.
“This initiative was launched last year in response to mitigation and prevention of potential disaster strikes for sustainable development,” he said, adding that the federation is affiliated with Child Fund to support the welfare of children within the district.
Sering Modou Joof, regional disaster management officer for the West Coast Region, said the regional office has an annual plan to guide operations for the whole year, and used the opportunity to commend the participants for responding to the call of Kairasu to such an important forum.
He further described the role of the VDC as very important, noting that the local communities are expected to work hand-in-glove in ensuring clean and tidy environment and to put in place measures to mitigate and prevent potential disaster from striking.
Joof commended Kairasu Federation for complementing the efforts of their work in ensuring that government achieve its target in capacitating all VDCs, before 2015 for effective participation.
According to him, disaster knows no boundary, no tribe or religion, when it strikes the impact of it is always felt by all, be it rich or poor.
Citing an example of government’s efforts in responding to disaster, where 142 families were evacuated from Kotu Quarry to Sotokoi, Joof said, it is high time to consider having plans to mitigate and prevent disaster to reduce disaster risks reduction.
“Any development initiative to be undertaken must have environmental impact assessment to ensure the area is disaster-free zone to avoid future emergencies,” he emphasised.
Modou Boye, federation board chairman said the VDCs are the entry point for any development in the communities.
According to him, there are two types of disaster: artificial and natural. He said the manmade disaster could be minimised by coming up with mitigation and prevention strategic measures.
Adama Sanneh, the Program Development Officer for Kairasu, who doubles as the master of ceremony described the training as timely and relevant, and then challenged the participants to make use of the opportunity available to them.
At the end of the training session, each VDC was given sanitary equipment, such as wheel barrows, rakes, cutlass, among others, for their various VDCs within the district.
