24 Government officials now certified Psychological First Aiders
IN Government’s bid to better prepare for Natural Disasters, the Ministry of Rural, Maritime and Natural Disasters hosted a Psychological First Aid Training (PFA) for Government officials in the North.
The training facilitated by Empower Pacific equipped its attendees on how to offer support to survivors of crises like natural disasters.
Officiating at the conclusion of the workshop, Divisional Commissioner Northern, Uraia Rainima, said the training of Government officials in such aspects was instrumental in natural disaster preparedness.
“We know that disaster operations take half of the year as our cyclone season starts in November and ends in April every year, so a lot of our time is taken doing this,” Mr Rainima said.
He said in previous operations, officials responding to crises would encounter fatalities involving civilians, triggering trauma for some officials and affecting their performance while on the field.
“When we are equipped with this kind of knowledge; we will be of help to our team members instead of having to wait for external help,” Mr Rainima said.
“Whatever we have gained from here will not only help us in our work environment, but most importantly our families and other
organisations we are a part of.”
Facilitator and Empower Pacific team leader, Shobna Indal, said this training was important especially for first responders to
catastrophic events.
“It is a humane and practical assistance to fellow human beings who recently suffered exposure to serious stressors,” Mrs Indal said.
“The basic principles of PFA are to look, listen and link. PFA training equips them with the knowledge on how to handle survivors, understand how it affects individuals differently and protecting them from further harm.”
Tatatau Yalimailalati, representing the Ministry of Infrastructure, said serving communities during natural disasters was a challenging experience for civil servants who were expected to not only steer them to safety but to offer comfort to survivors.
“The training we had will help us move forward with a better service as far as natural disaster and other crises are concerned,” Mr
Yalimailalati said.
A total of 24 officials from various Government Departments participated in this training.