HDFF’s “Stay Safe Training 2011_2″ —  A Terrific Success!

As quoted during the training, Charles De Gaulle stated “Faced with crisis, the man of character falls back to himself. He imposes his own stamp of action, takes responsibility for it, makes it his own”.

The second round of the “Stay Safe Training 2011_2” was held 22-26 August 2011 and similarly reflected Mr. De Gaulle’s statement.  Twelve safety and security NGO focal managers from diverse international countries representing Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Philippines and Iraq and organizations such as World Vision, Diakonia, Save the Children, Mercy Corps and International Rescue Committee  attended the training. The participants were given the opportunity to learn to increase their capabilities of preventing threats and maintaining internal/ external safety within their organizations.

The five day training included a variety of skill building sessions with topics in Leadership in Emergencies, Situation Assessment, Communication in Crisis and Security Planning including mind mapping risk analysis, standard operating plans and contingency planning. Each manager was able to focus on identifying the potential emergencies that could affect their personnel and how to plan, act and report accordingly.

Numerous ideas that were discussed as relevant risks included natural disasters, human trafficking, road accidents, kidnap for random, fires and bombings. Fortunately, our Iraq representative was a security manager and was able to provide numerous examples and relevant experiences.

The training also included several practical applications including hostage incident management conveyed by a trainer from UNDP, mine awareness training from the Thailand Mine Action Center / APOPO representatives, fire fighting and first aid from varying experts.  Each experience provided the participants with a level of theory and hands on practice in order to cope with varying threats in their respective environments. Some of the most interesting and fun activities were CPR, trying on demining suits and of course conquering the fear of battling fire.

All in all, it was an excellent week and the participants gained a new perspective in fulfilling their roles.  HDFF is excited to be offering two more Stay Safe trainings coming up, one November 15-16^th for all NGO staff and the third SST for security focal points and managers in 2012 from February 20-24^th. Continue to watch out for further information on facebook and the website (www.hdff.org) !!              Contact Elana Zygman at zygman@hdff.org for further information.