“This might be something that Palauan Red Cross could do for the Palauan community in the future,” Ahulau said in an interview.
Mass care, he explained, is basically about feeding the masses or sheltering them; and Disaster Assessment is when after a disaster the volunteers take a look at the damage at home, talk to the family and try to determine the kind of damage the home has.
According to Miriam Chin, Director of Palau Red Cross Society, “We’re training our volunteers; we’re preparing our volunteers should we be asked by the government since the role of Red Cross is auxiliary to the government in terms of disaster,” Chin explained.
“Right now,” Chin added, “God forbid, if there’s a disaster, these people are now able to do damage assessment.”
The four-day training consisted of lectures and presentations by Ahulau, and an Instructor course where volunteers were trained to teach the courses themselves.
“Miriam Chin wants her staff to be able to teach mass care and disaster assessment to others,” said Ahulau.
Chin said Palau Red Cross needs its volunteers to be ready along the lines of preparation, response and recovery whenever there’s a disaster.
Ahulau, who has worked in tragic disasters such as the Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans and Ground Zero in New York, said the materials he uses in his presentations are the same materials used by the American Red Cross in all States in the US and its territories.
