From April 1st until April 12th 2019 K1 Direct hosting two consecutive 6-day training facilitated by the United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC)’s Mr. Jacob “Sjaak” Seen.

On March 31st, K1 Direct’s Curacao volunteers arrived and got acquainted before they jumped right in the training this morning alongside our partners such as representatives of the Coast Guard, the Windward Islands Emergency Medical services (Wiems SXM) and a few of K1 DIRECT members from St. Maarten.

From Sunday, April 7th to Friday, April 12th, we will repeat the disaster response mission cycle training in half-day sessions with participants such as our K1 Direct St. Maarten volunteers, representatives from the Government’s Emergency Support Function 7, and the Dutch marines.

The course covered everything from Principles of Humanitarian Aid, Disaster & Crisis Management, Search & Rescue Phase, Emergency Logistics, and many others.

The course was very busy, but a rewarding experience for K1 DIRECT. This is the first (of hopefully many) international training we’ve organized, and we look forward to sharing and gaining knowledge, and building bonds!

K1 DIRECT’s founding sponsors, who help to make training courses such as this possible, are Carnival Cruise Line and the Dutch Disaster Fund (NRF).

UNDAC Disaster Response Course: Recap 1

What a way to kick off the UNDAC Disaster Response Course!

The first day began with Jacob “Sjaak” Seen diving into the principles of humanitarian aid and relief work. He went on to explain the mission cycle which includes the many phases of a disaster.

When working through the cycles of a disaster, a multi initial rapid assessment must be done which entails working together with all partners to assess data before and after a disaster – talk about teamwork!

Did you know Sjaak was a Firefighter for years? He has also worked with Urban Search & Rescue (USAR) in The Netherlands. His experience undoubtedly shined through his teachings. The participants were quick to mention that he continuously ties real-world experiences into methodology while stressing the importance of group work.

Stay tuned for more updates on K1 DIRECT – UNDAC Disaster Response Course made possible by Carnival Cruise Line and the Dutch Disaster Fund.

UNDAC Disaster Response Course: Recap 2 ( Reception & Departure Centers)

Sjaak explained how ports, airports and harbours work! Each has their custom and immigration policies and different ways of protocol to deal with arrival of people and cargo. In emergency situations, if there is damage to that port or if personnel is not available, the disaster team still need to find a way to document arrivals and departures of persons and cargo.

The team visited the Princess Juliana International Airport and received a tour by the head of security to understand how the aiport works under normal conditions and disaster situations.

K1 DIRECT is gaining valuable information and it’s great that they can put theory into practice!

Thank you to Carnival Cruise Line & the Dutch Disaster Fund (NRF) for making this possible!

UNDAC Disaster Response Course: Recap 3 (Emergency Logistics and Certificates Week 1)

During these days, the course covered topics on emergency logistics. How can K1 DIRECT effectively organize logistics and equipment of the mission during an emergency?

This also entails distribution management, the organization of a warehouse, and the assessment of the most effective ways to distribute relief to the community based on their needs. Sjaak also touched on the importance of documenting every task and the procedure for debriefing.

Day six ended with a one on one evaluation for each K1 DIRECT volunteer. Each volunteer has their own special expertise, for example, there are ex-police officers, ex-military sergeants, engineers etc. The team focused on their specific interests and how they can best highlight their skills. All participants received their certificate of completion with smiles on their faces!

We can’t wait to see what continues to transpire from K1 DIRECT. Thank you to Carnival Cruise Line & the Dutch Disaster Fund (NRF)!

UNDAC Disaster Response Course Week 2: Recap 4

After a successful first week with K1 DIRECT Curacao, week 2 rolled in with K1 DIRECT St. Maarten volunteers, representatives of the fire department and ESF7 partaking in the repeated disaster response training organized by K1 and facilitated by Sjaak of UNDAC.

The group received the same course topics as the participants in week 1, covering topics starting with principles of humanitarian aid all the way to the handover of reports and tasks before departure from a disaster zone.

K1 DIRECT initially organized this training to better prepare our volunteers to execute their tasks, especially with ESF 7 with whom we have pre-determined roles, but decided that it would be much more beneficial to St. Maarten to make the course available to other response entities. The interest shown in the training and the desire for collaboration has been quite encouraging!

Congratulations to our volunteers and all other participants who have now been recognized for their knowledge gained in disaster response by means of certification.