~Psycho-social support workshop focused on trauma during disasters~
PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten – September 30th – FLOW team members joined volunteers of the K1 Disaster Relief and Crisis Team (K1 DIRECT) during a recently held disaster management training session focused specifically on providing psycho-social support to the community in disaster situations. The telecom Operator funded the training sessions and the training plan provided the participants with the skill set to identify and manage distress and severe stress situations.
‘We would like to say thank you to FLOW and their team for partnering with us for this training and for seeing the importance of it.’ says Josiah Lamothe, K1 DIRECT Program Manager “As a disaster relief team, this training is very important for us to stay prepared not only physically but mentally. It helps us to be better prepared to manage people and their emotions in high-stress moments in a disaster, which is important in our role as disaster first responders.‘ Lamothe continues.
K1 DIRECT is the pillar of the K1 Britannia Foundation which focuses on providing critical support to communities after a natural disaster such as a hurricane, but also with crises such as the recent COVID19 lockdowns and their implications on the community. They do so on St. Maarten, but will also deploy to other islands/ countries in the region to support local disaster relief efforts in terms of coordination and manpower.
‘We were happy to support the K1 DIRECT volunteers in strengthening the skills they tap into when confronted with the very real and serious situations that arise in the aftermath of a disaster. We commend them for their readiness to help in times that our community needs it most.’ comments Rauf Engels, Statutory Director of Flow.
‘We were also very pleased that our own team had the opportunity to join the sessions to learn valuable new skills. We’ll use the learnings from the course to be there for our own staff in an even more meaningful and comprehensive way. The psychological impacts of disasters are often not recognized as immediately as a physical injury or other visible material damage, but that doesn’t make it any less important. We’re happy to support a community partner that recognizes that importance.
‘Thanks to FLOW for not only partnering with us for this training but for also assisting with our DIRECT communications for a year.’ adds K1 Britannia management team member, Chiaira Bowers ‘Partnerships like these are what makes it possible to maintain and expand as a non-profit organization with a volunteer disaster relief and crisis team. We look forward to a continued partnership with FLOW as we continue to stay prepared and ready to assist affected communities locally or regionally.’
