Representatives from USAID/Jamaica, OFDA and the St. Patrick’s Rangers of Jamaica observe one of the many gullies in the community of Seivwright, King- ston that has been affected by pollution and gar- bage build up on a recent site visit
The St. Patrick’s Rangers, withsupport from Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and the USAID’s Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA), are proving that young people can play a key role in reducing disaster risk. The St. Patrick’s Rangers is a quasi-military youth group founded by the St. Patrick’s Foundation in 2009 to implement the USAID/Catholic Relief Services project titled “Youth Emergency Action Committees (YEAC): Empowering Youth in the Caribbean for Community Disaster Risk Reduction.
The Rangers, a voluntary youth club of about 120 members, formed four YEACs and CRS and its local partner the St. Patrick’s Foundation, in close coordina- tion with local government agencies, trained these groups in a variety of areas. YEACs learned about disaster risk reduction, including hurri- cane and earthquake awareness and preparedness. Participants re- ceived training in first aid, shelter management, teamwork and commu- nity development. A team from USAID/Jamaica and OFDA went on a series of site visits on Monday September 10, 2012 to view the work being implemented by the St. Patrick’s Rangers.