Disaster Trainings for 5000 Citizens in Mumbai

Capacity Building Training of Women's Group for Fire Fighting

With the vision in mind of preparing citizens for situations of disasters, United Way of Mumbai has been facilitating first responder training programs for various city stakeholders. As part of this endeavor, Fire fighting training was organized for the women groups of slum communities of Andheri, a suburb in the city of Mumbai. Slum settlements consist of semi structured houses built with the use of raw material, plastics, wood.  Such settlements have minimal space and are vulnerable to hazards of frequently occurring fire incidents. Hence it is imperative to train and prepare key stakeholders such as women (who are usually the first responders to such incidents) of these communities in fire fighting.

40 women went through Fire fighting Training program and learnt about basic aspects of fire Safety. Training also helped them understand different strategies to fight fire by using available material at home such as rice, soap etc. Participants also had hands on experience of using of fire extinguishers.

First Responder Training of Youth Group for Disaster Response 

United Way of Mumbai aims to channelize the youth power for safer and better communities in the city of Mumbai. As part of this 50 college youth from M L Dahanukar College, were trained as First Responder in times of disasters. Inputs were given on different types of disasters, preventive measures and ways to handle situation in times of disasters. It was an interactive session wherein participants shared their experiences and actions they take in times of disasters. This helped the youth to understand the role that they can play first responders in times of crisis.

• Capacity Building Training of Women's Group for Disaster Response and Management nearby Mithi River in Mumbai City
  Mithi River passing through Mumbai city becomes hazardous during Monsoon every year. Citizens drowning cases due to flooding and heavy rain fall near the banks of Mithi River were recorded during Monsoon 2011 and 2012. One of the major reasons for this was the temporary settlements by the citizens on the banks of Mithi River. Hence, the need was identified to appeal the citizens to keep away from the river banks and warn them about potential risks of drowning. Given these background, we have started organizing First Responder Training program for local residents of the communities near Mithi River to effectively intervene in the flood prone area. In context with this, 36 women residing in Takpada (local community) attended first responder training specially focused on household safety and the flood emergency. Further United Way Mumbai Helpline sensitized the citizens living in Disaster prone area by putting up awareness boards which contained vital information about dos and dos in times of floods, emergency contact details etc.

• Initiatives for Safer Ganesh Festival Celebration in Mumbai City

Ganesh festival is one of the biggest festivals in Mumbai city and popularity of the same cuts across boundaries of age and religion. Ganesha Chaturthi is a Hindu festival celebrated on the birthday of Lord Ganesha, the son of Shiva and Parvati. This year too, Mumbai witnessed a frenzy of celebrations. In all, nearly 3 lakh Ganesh idols were brought to homes and for community celebrations and a similar number of idols were eventually immersed at the various beaches and lakes. Each year this brings forth the following challenge: Given the popularity of the festival, high footfall at various pandals (where Ganesh Idols are put up for worshipping) and immersions sites are witnessed. Such gatherings are vulnerable to incidents such as overcrowding, stampede, casualties to the devotees, fire occurrences at the Pandals, etc.

Given the gravity of these issues, every year United Way Mumbai Helpline in partnership of various public and private organizations of the city carries our series of citywide activities and campaigns to promote safer celebration of Ganesh Festival. This year too was no different, with scaled up initiatives and wider outreach to more than 500 major Ganesh Mandals of the city.

• Disaster Response and Management Trainings for Ganesh Mandals:

Considering the need for trained first responders to prevent any mishaps and mitigate the impact at Ganesh pandals; UWMH joined hands with the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) for organizing first responder trainings for Ganesh Mandal groups of city. The training covered the aspect of flood (causes and preventive measures), fire safety, bomb threats, crowd management and first aid methods. The training program was planned by the Disaster Management Cell of MCGM and UWMH helped them in mobilizing the Ganesh Mandals from various parts of the city. The team members of UWMH reached out to numerous Mandals and convinced them about the need for attending the training. In all 100 representatives from various Ganesh Mandals in the city successfully completed the training. The training was imparted by the trainers from MCGM’s Disaster Management Cell.

• Putting up informative boards at Ganesh Pandals:

Besides training the representatives of the Ganesh Mandals, it is imperative to also educate the visitors to these pandals and make them aware of the Do’s & Don’ts to be followed during different disasters such as fire, drowning, stampede and other related emergencies. UWMH put up informative banners at 200 major Ganesh Pandals of the city which displayed vital information regarding different disasters, Do’s and Don’ts  and emergency contact numbers in times of crisis. The content of these banners were created in close consultation with the MCGM’s Disaster Management Cell.

Thank You for your continued support.

United Way of Mumbai Team

Links:

• http://www.mumbaihelpline.org