Waliullah Emran, Barguna

A group of 100 male and female volunteers have come to Shubhasandhya Beach for a three-day survival training. Some are responsible for setting up tents and some have taken the responsibility of enrolling volunteers. Some are forming groups or allocating tents for volunteers.

On Wednesday evening, the training ground at the beach became bustling with volunteers walking around through various activities.

Keeping in mind the slogan ‘In darkness, disaster, peace, volunteers come first’, a three-day advanced survival volunteer training has started from Wednesday. This is the first such training for volunteers to deal with disasters in the country. This training program is being implemented by Jagonari, a voluntary non-governmental development organization, with the support of Oxfam Bangladesh.

Former General Secretary of Barguna District Rover Scout Tariq Bin Ansari Sumon moderated the first day's introductory session, where retired commando trainer Mohammad Rafiqul Islam, Jagonari Volunteer Project Officer Subir Kumar Kar and others spoke. The trainees were given guidelines and advice on the first day. At the same time, the trainees expressed their commitment.

Volunteer Project Officer Subir Kumar Kar said that more than 300 volunteers have received basic skill development training in the initial stage. 100 selected from them are getting the opportunity to participate in advanced survival training. 100 participants have been selected for this training through various stages of selection from the volunteers registered in five upazilas of Barguna.

Out of these, 50 are women and 50 are men. Retired army commandos, scouts and experienced trainers of BNCC, trained doctors and humanitarian activities experts will conduct various sessions of the training. Volunteers will learn techniques to become stronger during difficult times during disasters. The training will help volunteers increase their physical and mental capabilities to deal with any disaster in the future. So that they can stand by the side of disaster-affected people and prepare themselves as skilled volunteers.

Jagonari CEO Hosne Ara Hasi said, Jagonari has been dealing with various emergency situations with volunteers since the emergency period of the Corona pandemic. In this training, volunteers will be able to learn practical techniques for dealing with disasters under the direct supervision of skilled trainers from different parts of the country. He expressed hope that this advanced training will add a new dimension to volunteer activities in Bangladesh.

It is mentioned noting that with the increase in the level of natural disasters around the world due to the impact of climate change, the importance of volunteer activities in dealing with disasters in the national and international arena has also increased immensely.

Volunteering in disaster response has expanded in Bangladesh since the devastating cyclone that hit the coast of Bangladesh in 1970. Bangladesh's volunteering in disaster response has already gained a reputation worldwide.