Captain Elizabeth Hayward is The Salvation Army’s International Field Operations and Training Officer, based at International Headquarters
|
|
|
Training: soup soap and preparation
by Captain Elizabeth Hayward
 It's only a can of parsnip soup but it bears on itsshoulders a heavy weight of responsibility! It is on the table at the beginning of the emergency response training course and it represents ‘soup’ in the historic ‘soup, soap and salvation’ characterisation of The Salvation Army’s mission. Its relevance to the Movement’s emergency relief work is obvious.
Emergency Services training courses may not sound inspiring. They are not the stuff of headlines and heart-touching photos.
They begin by examining the work of responding to disasters in the light of The Salvation Army’s Christian ethos. What is the purpose of disaster response and how does it relate to the purpose of the Church? Are there any disasters to which we should not respond because of where they are or whom they affect? Are there any constraints on our activities we should not accept?
Our training courses are rights-based. The ideal that ‘all possible steps should be taken to prevent or alleviate human suffering arising out of conflict or calamity’ is the foundation of our response and our reason for being. Our training courses are a forum for Salvation Army personnel to reconsider their own motivations for becoming involved in emergency work and to be alerted to the standards which have been evolved and shared by other non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
Suppose you were faced by 10,000 hungry people. Is this an ‘emergency’? How would you decide what to give them to eat and how much to give them? How would you know whether you had given them enough? The Sphere Project, which identifies minimum standards for NGOs in disaster response, is a major component of the courses.
We aim for our courses to be participatory. A day-long disaster simulation exercise provides a common experience in disaster management for the participants – and a great deal of laughter!
The courses have many benefits. They enhance the capacities of regions to respond to their own disasters, help participants to assess their own interests and abilities in relation to emergency work, provide trained personnel as a resource to other regions and allow International Headquarters to identify possible international responders. That’s a great deal from a can of parsnip soup!
|