A four-day training programme to introduce Samoa Red Cross Society youth volunteers to first aid was held this week at the Taumeasina Island Resort.

The July 5-8 training was held under the auspices of the Pacific Resilience Partnership and revolved around the conference theme ‘Our people, Our journey: nurturing Pacific resilience from home'.

Youth who attended the four-day training told the Samoa Observer that they learnt a lot during the conference’s days.

Samoa Red Cross Society’s Francisco Fidow told the Samoa Observer of the importance of the training and the conference to the youth participants.

“The purpose of this meeting to youth volunteers of Samoa Red Cross is to enhance their knowledge and skills with first aid, and respond to sudden illness and natural disasters,” he said in an interview. 

Samoa Red Cross is part of Pacific Resilience Partnership and are working together with other partnerships like the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (S.P.R.E.P.) to respond to disasters, changes in weather and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Participants are being prepared just in case COVID-19 strikes our country they will know exactly how to respond,” said Mr Fidow.

“The importance of the meeting this week is to gather all partners to talk and see if there are things that need to be reconciled and to increase knowledge on how to respond to these problems.”

Recognising that building resilience has to be an inclusive, genuine and active multi-stakeholder partnership, regional leaders in 2017 endorsed a set of governance arrangements for the Pacific Resilience Partnership to support and facilitate effective implementation.

The biennial Pacific Resilience Meeting (PRM) is a key component of the Pacific Resilience Partnership (PRP) governance arrangements endorsed by the Pacific Island Forum Leaders in 2017 to support the effective implementation of the Framework for Resilient Development in the Pacific.