Youth project to build disaster resilience launched

GUYANA

The Diocese of Georgetown launched a Youth Emergency Action Committees (YEAC) project Saturday, May 4. The launch took place in the parish hall of St Joseph, Husband of Mary RC Church, Little Diamond, East Bank Demerara.

The YEAC project for building disaster-resilience was implemented by Caritas Antilles with the support of the US Agency for International Development (USAID’s) Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA) in vulnerable communities in the Caribbean.

A Catholic Standard report said that Bishop Francis Alleyne OSB of Georgetown and other members of the YEAC East Bank Demerara project team are interacting with young people aged 16–25 and will partner with key stakeholders to offer leadership and life-skills training in disaster preparation and management like first aid, fire prevention and firefighting and responses to flooding.

The project aims to strengthen the capacity of young people to respond to natural disasters, humanitarian crises, environmental issues, social injustices, or public health emergencies. It does this through partnering for training with competent organisations such as the Fire Service or Red Cross to deliver leadership and life-skills training and emergency response skills training.

Caritas Antilles is affiliated with Caritas Internationalis, the world’s largest Catholic development and emergency relief agency.

Caritas Internationalis is the humanitarian arm of the Catholic Church which reaches out to the poor, vulnerable and excluded, to build a world based on justice and fraternal love. Caritas is Latin for ‘love’ and is guided by the core values and key principles of Catholic Social Teaching.