CDEMA helping Guyana strengthen emergency radio communication capabilities

A five-day programme on Barrett Radio Training and Installation being conducted in Guyana through a collaboration with the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) is expected to strengthen Guyana capacity to utilise radio communication effectively.

The team building exercise is being administered by experts from CDEMA – the regional disaster management body of the Caribbean Community whose primary role is to be a facilitator, driver, coordinator and motivating force to the promotion and engineering of Comprehensive Disaster Management (CDM) in all the participating states.
Among the beneficiaries are operators from Guyana’s Civils Defence Commission (CDC), the Guyana Police Force (GPF), the Guyana Fire Service (GFS) and the Guyana Defence Force (GDF).
The training is being executed at CDC Headquarters, Thomas Lands, Georgetown.
The Barrett Radio Training is a significant step towards strengthening disaster preparedness and communication capabilities in the region, ensuring that responders are well equipped to handle emergency situations effectively.
It is designed to provide participants with in-depth knowledge of effective radio communication techniques and operational readiness. As part of the field operations, attempts will be made to contact Caribbean islands such as Tobago and Turks and Caicos via radio to test its readiness during times of disaster.
This exercise is crucial for ensuring reliable communication during disaster situations.
Just a few months ago, the region was hit by the devastating Hurricane Beryl that made landfall on July 1 in Carriacou, Grenada, as a Category Four hurricane and subsequently intensified into a Category Five storm.
In addition to Grenada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Beryl wreaked havoc in Barbados, St. Lucia, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago – countries with large Guyanese diasporas.
Beryl has killed at least ten people and disrupted economies on the various small islands, from tourism to agriculture, in particular the 25 by 2025 goals that were first championed by Guyana and President Ali, before and during his Chairmanship of CARICOM in the first part of the year.