ADRA trains more than 200 pastors for emergency response and community service
More than 200 Seventh-day Adventist ministers pose for a group picture after spending two days training for a special emergency response and community project development program with the Adventist Development and Relief Agency in the Najayo Adventist Campgrounds in San Cristobal, Dominican Republic, Apr. 6-7, 2015. Image by ADRA Dominican Republic.
April 19, 2015 | Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic | Saiury Calcaño/IAD Staff
The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) in the Dominican Republic trained some 209 Seventh-day Adventist ministers in emergency response and community service earlier this month in preparation to the hurricane season which begins in June.
President of the Adventist Church in Dominican Republic Pastor Cesario Acevedo said the church leadership took a vote to turn every church into a health and community center starting this year. The church operates some 747 churches on the island. IAD file photo
The two-day certification program held Apr. 6-7 at the Najayo Adventist Campgrounds in the San Cristobal province, was the first intensive training meant to equip church pastors to manage security and communicate soundly during future emergencies. They also planned new projects that churches can execute to benefit the surrounding communities, according to Luis Miguel Acevedo, ADRA Dominican Republic director.
The training was part of a larger plan to connect churches with their communities even more, said Pastor Cesario Acevedo, president of the church in the Dominican Republic.
“We needed to sensitize and train pastors so that they can be agents of change in their churches, and be more involved in situations that may affect their communities,” said Luis Miguel Acevedo.
Not only is the island battered by periodic heavy rains and flooding brought on by hurricanes and thunderstorms, but also experience outbreaks of potentially fatal diseases such as dengue fever, cholera, and chikungunya.
Luis Miguel Acevedo, ADRA Dominican Republic director said training will continue for church leaders during the months to come. IAD File photo.
“There are communities that can prevent certain emergencies if only they can establish risk reduction plans when it comes to the spread of diseases, saving dozens of lives every year,” said Luis Miguel Acevedo.
During the past five years, ADRA Dominican Republic with it hundreds of church member volunteers responded to seven major emergencies across the country.
The last major ADRA response took place in 2014 when a massive outbreak of Chikungunya, an infection spread by mosquitoes, affected the San Cristobal province in the southern part of the Dominican Republic, said Pastor Acevedo. More than 500 trained volunteers in coordination with the local Ministry of Public Health went house-to-house to share information.
This training follows an intense certification program began in October of last year to teach hundreds of church member volunteers for community service, emergency needs assessment, and community project development.
Seminar presenters included ADRA International experts Paul Muniz who spoke on emergency security, Silvia Nestares on community leadership and Debra Olsen with managing emergency situations, and more. ADRA International leaders congratulated ADRA Dominican Republic and the church for its leadership and support of this new and innovative training initiative.
Part of the training allowed pastors to divide by their regional zones to come up with an emergency response project that can apply for their territory. One particular simulation exercise woke pastors up at 4:00 a.m. to the sound of explosions where the fire department responded and pastors had to practice security measures they had learned during the training, explained Luis Miguel Acevedo.
Pastor Cesario Acevedo said the Dominican Union’s administrative committee took a vote recently to have every Adventist Church become a health and community center starting in 2015, and serve to aid ADRA Dominican Republic in emergency responses and project development as well.
Pastors were grouped together regionally to come up with projects and engage in working together for emergency response when disaster strikes. Image by ADRA Dominican Republic.
“We want our pastors to train members to be facilitators in their churches so that they can be ready to collaborate with the national Emergency response Committee, the civil defense and the Red Cross to help people in the communities where our churches are located,” said Pastor Cesario Acevedo.
The comprehensive initiative will eventually see the 747 organized churches on the island with a local church ADRA coordinator, a health professional who will organize health screenings every three months, work on community based projects, and will have a visible sign that identifies the church as a health and community center, Pastor Acevedo explained.
ADRA Dominican Republic plans to continue the follow-up for pastors to be proactive in emergency response in the coming months and hold another training for next April for some 30 zone leaders from the local fields across the island to develop plans to reduce risks in their communities in case of emergencies.