NEMA Trains 600 Corps Members On Disaster

No fewer than 600 National Youths Service Corp (NYSC) members have been trained and inaugurated as disaster vanguards in their respective places of primary assignments by the South East Zonal office of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).

According to the agency, the training programme which is aimed at using NYSC “Members as disaster vanguards and for proactive disaster management nation-wide ran simultaneously in all the five States of the zone and lasted for four days.

Speaking to newsmen in Enugu on the training, the South East zonal coordinator of NEMA, Dr. Abdulahi Bandele Onimode, explained that the NEMA/NYSC Emergency Management Vanguards (EMV) programme was designed to offer youth corpers the opportunity to  provide their services in an organised, prompt and responsive ways to disaster incidents during their one year service to their fatherland.

“ It is also aimed at inculcating a broad disaster management consciousness, awareness and preventive culture among the corps members”.

Dr. Onimode further disclosed that corps members were trained on the role of NYSC corps members in National Disaster Risk Management, basic first aid tips during emergency incidents, prevalent disasters in the South East Zone and how to handle domestic fire incidents at home or work place, among other measures.

.Dr. Onimode , who visited three orientation camps within the zone during the event, emphasised that NYSC scheme, in its resolve to collaborate with NEMA towards promoting disaster risk reduction and building resilient communities had offered the Agency its pool of resourceful staff.