By Cecelia Campbell-Livingston
The church is being urged to strengthen its partnership with other agencies in order to be more active in disaster risk management.
This need has become clearer following the 5.6-magnitude earthquake that rocked the island on Monday, October 30.
General practitioner Dr. Arlene Blake-McCain said at last Thursday’s Freedom Come Rain’sFreedom Talk that the church can help to bridge the gap between members of the community and state officials who are responsible for emergency management protocols.
The medical doctor, who is the director of ABM Medical Services Limited in Kingston, suggested that with immediate effect, all churches in the geographical locations should identify at least one person who is the appointed official for emergency management at the national level.
“If something happens, there has to be a system in the church to be rolled out,” she said.
She said this is one of the ways the church can help after a natural disaster. This person would be contacted to help mobilise support among other things.
Dr. Blake-McCain pointed out that once there is that kind of organisation in the church, there will be stewards with their “nose to the ground” who are in direct communication with persons responsible for community outreach and who are designated to be the emergency management officer.
The doctor prescribed that each church should have two or three persons in this roll ideally, who would start to develop protocols to deal with emergencies.
“Natural disasters are the first, and non-natural disasters are the second. Once you do that, you will have something going,” she said.
Noting that the country has an emergency plan, she said her advice revolves around improving upon what is already in existence, based on the key locations of churches across the island.
“The church being where it is, people will run to the church. That designated person who has emergency management will direct them to where help can be given,” she stated as she informed that the person needing help would have been directed to the right contact or physical location where help can be found.
Medical doctor, Yvonne Munroe, weighing in on the issue, highlighted that protocols are already in place at the parish level, which involves the various stakeholders. She said those persons would have been called out on short notice.
Dr. Munroe had worked with the Ministry of Health and Wellness for several years. She noted that some churches are already involved, although she doesn’t know to what extent.
“I know we put faith-based agencies in our disaster plan as well, but the church alone wouldn’t be able to facilitate; it takes stakeholder interaction to really assess and know what to do,” she said.
Local hospitals were inundated with persons suffering from panic and asthma attacks arising from the October 30 earthquake.