On Wednesday, December 15, 2021, the Directorate of Protection (DPC) of the West in conjunction with the Directorate General of Civil Protection conducted a ceremony to award plaques of honor and merit to 25 most active volunteers from six municipalities in the department of the West.
This event is part of the promotion of volunteerism within the SNGRD and is supported by the project Mitigation of Urban Risks to Increase Resilience to Disasters (MRAC), funded by DG-ECHO.
Valuing the achievements of the SNGRD volunteer program, encouraging young trained and dynamic managers who volunteer in the communes, arousing the interest of young managers and academics to engage in a dynamic of social accountability, encouraging and valuing the time of volunteers, Encourage the sharing of good practices between communes, strengthen the preparation capacities of structures at the communal and local levels and institutional support and enhance the value of the experience gained within the SNGRD, all of which are objectives pursued, according to Enrico CLAUDE, of the DPC-OUEST.
For the selection of the honored volunteers, an ad hoc committee was set up whose main mission is to analyze the candidates’ files in order to select them according to the following criteria: – Availability during interventions – Training – Field intervention(attitude) – Individual efficiency – Community feedback(testimony) – Good daily action – Discipline – Leadership.
This activity to prioritize volunteerism is an effective way to meet development challenges, said in her speech, the country director of the non-governmental organization Concern Worldwide who sees it as a call to celebrate the contribution of millions of people who volunteer.
“Today, we must encourage, recognize, value and promote volunteerism for a more equal and inclusive future for communities around the world and the world,” she said.
Committing to volunteerism now for our common future is the 2021 theme of Volunteer Day. A theme that many believe encourages people to act now and get involved in finding workable and sustainable solutions.
For Concern Worldwide, this day is an opportunity to show gratitude and to demonstrate to volunteers the importance of their contribution over the past year. “According to Dr. Jerry CHANDLER, Director General of DPC, this ceremony is a demonstration of gratitude from the general management and the departmental coordination to the volunteers. He took the opportunity to thank the volunteers who have given themselves body and soul during this past year following the disturbing events that occurred in the metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince. These volunteers, according to him, have been on the front lines and have done an outstanding job in a climate of insecurity. He also thanked them for their availability and sense of responsibility during the emergency interventions. He hopes to repeat this initiative in other regions of the country with the support of other partners.
For his part, the departmental director DPC-West, Enrico CLAUDE, believes that the enhancement of the achievements of volunteerism can contribute to strengthening the great family of civil protection today, which requires new operational arms within the most marginalized neighborhoods, he noted, adding that the management will continue the reflection on good practices that can enhance and encourage the experience of volunteerism in the department he leads.