The Malawi Red Cross Society (MRCS) has trained 13 people on how to operate motorised boats as one way of empowering them with skills to effectively search and rescue others in times of disaster in Nsanje.
One of the stakeholders, DoDMA, said at the end of the twelve-day training that this will improve the speed of response to disasters such as floods because those who have been trained stay within the targeted communities.
“These people will be leading the search and rescue teams because at times due to logistical challenges we delay responding to disasters,” said Benjamin Msowoya, DoDMA’s Chairperson for the search and rescue cluster.
In her remarks, MRCS’s project coordinator for disaster management, Martha Chiwaya, said skills are essential because it is people within the communities who first respond to disasters when they occur.
“These are life-saving lessons and we are glad that our team has embraced them, this will go a long way in improving our response to disasters,” said Chiwaya.
Some of the trained volunteers from Sorgin Village in the district commended the organisation for the training.
The training has been conducted with financial help from the Malawi Government, facilitated by police officers from the Marine Department in the Malawi Police Service.
