Earth Today | 22 graduate disaster resilience project

TWENTY-TWO Westmoreland residents have successfully graduated a two-month training course intended to boost disaster resilience, thanks to the Climate Change Adaptation and Risk Reduction Technology and Strategies (CARTS) project.

The training exposed participants to skills in the construction of vector control aid and insect screens, as well as mesh covers, in addition to small business management training.

It was hosted by the Westmoreland Municipal Corporation, with the ceremony for the presentation of certificates held at Wesley Methodist Church in Savanna-la-Mar last month.

“Vector control and small business management training is indeed a mark of the achievement of a significant milestone for the CARTS project, a project that was designed to improve the resilience to climate change and enhance disaster risk reduction capacity in the town of Savanna-la-Mar,” noted project manager Shadae Allen of the Westmoreland Municipal Corporation.

“The CARTS project, through its implementation, has achieved a lot,” she added.

The project – which has also trained 164 persons trained in First Aid and Cardiopulmonary Response, Basic Search and Rescue and Initial Damage Assessment – was financed by the Community Disaster Risk Reduction Fund (CDRRF), a multi-donor trust fund managed by the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), with grant resources from Global Affairs Canada and the European Union.

Launched last October, this latest training was facilitated by the HEART Trust/NTA, the Ministry of Health and Wellness, business management teacher Wayne Coley, and industrial arts teacher Javid Murray.

Ultimately, the project is expected to benefit the 34,783 residents of Savanna-la-Mar, the coastal location of which makes it more vulnerable to climate impacts, including storm surge, flooding, and sea level rise, among others.