Santo Domingo.- The Civil Defense carried out this Friday a special demonstration of the campaign to generate public awareness “Learning to Save Lives”, aimed at officials, risk management authorities and the population in general, with a view to raising awareness of the importance to learn basic first aid this Easter and throughout the year.
On the day, held at the headquarters of the civil protection agency, attendees learned practical and brief maneuvers to save a life in an emergency situation, such as cardiorespiratory arrest, choking, minor injuries and fires.
This is a preventive action carried out by the Civil Defense, through the National School of Risk Management (ESNAGERI), with funding from the European Union through the Project to Strengthen Disaster Risk Management in the Dominican Republic. (PROGERI), which is coordinated by the National Emergency Commission (CNE) and the Vice Ministry of International Cooperation of the Ministry of Economy.
The opening ceremony was led by the president of the CNE and executive director of Civil Defense, Juan Salas, together with Sarah Soriano, Program Officer of the European Union, Yanelba Abreu, coordinator of PROGERI.
Director Salas stressed that with this campaign, which has already reached hundreds of people in parks, shopping malls and other places, the institution seeks to guarantee its mission of safeguarding lives.
“We have assumed the commitment to be closer to citizens, accompanying them not only in the response, but also providing them with basic knowledge so that they can attend to an emergency while the most professional help arrives,” he said.
For her part, the coordinator of PROGERI, Yanelba Abreu, stated that we have had paradigms that make us think that “in the face of the facts (of nature or anthropic) nothing can be done”, however over the years it has been shown that in order to reduce disaster risk requires a change of vision, breaking with those immobilizing beliefs and taking advantage of the fact that we are generating agents and key actors of change. For this, education and awareness of the populations and authorities are essential and this is one of the objectives of this campaign.
The conference “Learning to Save Lives” included sign language translation for people with hearing loss, with the intention that the knowledge can also be used by those with some hearing difficulty.
Likewise, instructional capsules on “First Aid” were shown to the public, which will be disseminated through the different media, web page and institutional social networks, for permanent consumption.
Using technology to save lives
As part of the novelties for this Holy Week, the Civil Defense enabled a QR code through which people can know, with a simple scan, which beaches and spas are enabled and safe for enjoyment. In the same way, know the aid stations distributed throughout the national geography to attend to any emergency of vacationers.
By accessing the code or also accessing the website www.defensacivil.gob.do, the population will be able to see the georeferenced bathing places, thanks to the work of a team of technicians from the National Integrated Information System (SINI).
By the way, he explained that in coordination with the Prevention, Mitigation and Response Committees (C-PMR), provincial and municipal, the Civil Defense will keep 420 spas open to the public, while 232 are closed as a preventive measure.
He indicated that, to assist the population during the holiday, the Civil Defense will have a total of 10,176 volunteers and 450 employees, distributed in 848 aid stations located at strategic points in the country.
This staff includes 313 doctors and paramedics, search and rescue specialists, and vehicle extrication technicians, who will provide assistance and protection to vacationers and tourists who will travel along the main roads, highways, avenues, and available resorts.
They will also have 25 ambulances equipped and equipped with medicines, ready to provide pre-hospital care; 15 boats, 35 divers and 135 lifeguards, who will be located in specific spas, for aquatic rescue.
The dissemination of preventive messages through its website, social networks and radio program “Civil Defense Alerts”, by The Voice of the Armed Forces 106.9 FM, is another of the actions that the orange institution is already carrying out, for the religious date .
Salas called on the population to act conscientiously and prudently on this date, which above all seeks to commemorate the viacrucis, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus.
