The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) on Tuesday says it would partner with the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) coaches on youth resilience in disaster management.
Daniel Gambo, NEMA Director of Training disclosed this in his opening remark at the “Public Safety through football integrative training organised by Search & Groom youth for Development centre in Abuja.
He said organizing the training for coaches was a good idea, stating that in every camp coaches were needed to curb the excesses of children by engaging them in sports.
According to him, they are partnering with coaches because they deal with youths in the community which they can help in training them on how to save lives during disasters.
“Honestly the agency is highly unlighted and very appreciative of your endeavour because anything that has to do with the community resilience, building capacity to help in response to disaster whenever they happen.
“NEMA is gladly partnering with that, more so that it has to do with youths and you know these are the power of the nation, and if we can build their resilience we are actually building our own future we the older ones.
“By the time you empower youths with such passion to save lives, you will find that they go all out to make sure that the older ones, aging ones, the vulnerable ones are well protected and well taking care of.
“No time giving in the cause of learning to help others that is wanted you will be rewarded here on earth and you will be rewarded here after so there is no adventure in this regard that is actually time wasting,” the director said.
Gambo said he was liaising with the Director of Search and Rescue by the directive of the DG on how coaches can be incorporated in the executive volunteer corps where they can be integrated.
He said those under the volunteer corps are called at any given time to help in camps and disaster areas stating that anytime spent helping others would be rewarded.
He spoke further, “We have the Executive Volunteer Corp; this Executive Volunteer Corps encompasses all strata of vocation, mechanical engineers, electrical, civil, medical, health in all aspect of health including physical education.
“And to have you corporate into the NEMA Executive volunteer corps it’s a very good platform whereby we have your data base and could be called upon at any time to help in camp management,”
Mr. Clive Lessem, the Director Development &Strategy, Mifalot Education and Society Enterprises, an NGO said the initiative was a good idea to train soccer coaches to become community leaders.
He said they have being successful in mobilizing the coaches and train them on how to become the major players in organizing the community at the time of disaster.
Lessem said there was a very good response from NEMA stating that they would walk through the process slowly to integrate the coaching in putting what they have learnt into the disaster management service.
