Brigade members from Mariscal Nieto and Ilo are being trained in practical workshops to identify risks, prevent fires, administer first aid, and more.
Moquegua now has 12 new community brigades, trained and equipped with their response kits for local emergency management. Anglo American, in partnership with RAPID LA, has implemented an innovative program to train the population in emergency response to natural or man-made risks.
This program of Awareness and Preparedness for Emergencies at the Local Level (APELL), created by the United Nations, aims to raise awareness among the population and prepare them to identify and enhance response capacity to natural and man-made disasters.
In coordination with local authorities, who also participate in the workshops, a series of training sessions have been conducted this year for participants from Mariscal Nieto and Ilo. These 141 trained brigade members have learned to manage risks, identify and assess hazards, prevent fires, administer first aid, among other skills.
In this first phase of the program, 12 community brigades have been formed, working with the “María Elena Moyano” and “María de Nazareth” Vaso de Leche committees in San Antonio. Similarly, in Chen Chen, they have collaborated with the “Divina Misericordia”, “Sumas Wassy 2008”, and “7 de junio” Vaso de Leche committees, as well as with the transporters from RapiTaxi and Royal Selectus companies. In the Valle sector, members of the neighborhood board of Sector Omo and La Rinconada were trained. In Ilo, members of the Villa Panamericana Housing Association were also trained. Additionally, the brigades of the Provincial Emergency Operations Center from Mariscal Nieto and Ilo participated in the program.
“This is a great benefit for me because I have never been as prepared as I am now to help any other person in danger,” says Efraín Tique, a brigade member from San Antonio.
Furthermore, this program has identified a good level of organization and mobilization capacity among participating organizations, which have a proper disposition to respond to an emergency situation.
Brigade members were able to put their new knowledge into practice during the recent National Multi-Hazard Simulation on May 31st. Thanks to their training, they became key actors in the management and operation of the emergency, providing prompt attention to the injured using splints, bandages, and a rigid board, as well as assisting in the evacuation and extinguishing of a fire using fire extinguishers.
