Kalinagos show high interest in becoming part of the Dominica Red Cross family

The Kalinago Red Cross Branch was launched in February 2024 and four months later, over one hundred Kalinagos from all age ranges and educational backgrounds have shown interest, and most have registered to be part of the International Red Cross family.

The local Kalinago Red Cross President, Ms. Kathleen Auguiste, has expressed optimism at such a large turn-out within a short space of time. According to her, “Hurricane Maria may have been the motivating factor behind the influx of people showing interest and wanting to become a Red Cross member. However, some people just want to be trained in CPR and First Aid because the hurricane season is here already”.

The Red Cross Society in Dominica has given the Kalinago People the opportunity to be trained and they are making use of this privilege. Not everyone wants to be a member of the Red Cross but they are willing to be trained.

At present, there are over fifty Kalinagos trained in CPR and First Aid coming from all the Hamlets. This is a noteworthy initiative from the people because of the past Hurricane Maria experience. Many people were left vulnerable with no one to turn to for medical and psychological support. Now with trained people, they are more prepared to face any disaster. More so, there are Disaster Committees set up by ODM in all Hamlets, adding to the preparation level in the Territory.

Training is a challenge for the training team because of the large size of The Territory. In each Hamlet, “there is a focal person who would take responsibility to mobilize people to meet or for training. It would be very difficult to have collective training. That’s why training is done on a community level” said Ms. Auguiste.