YEAC 4: Leading Youth for Urban Disaster Resilience

Lucia, is the focus of the Youth Emergency Action Committees (YEAC) 4: Leading Youth for Urban Disaster Resilience project. This initiative aims to increase the resilience of marginalized urban neighborhoods through engaging youth in disaster preparedness and response activities. The project is a 12-month cost extension of the previous phases, which established a foundation for understanding the role of youth in disaster preparedness. The project's goal is to enhance the technical and coordination skills of YEAC members for disaster preparedness, mitigation, response, and early recovery through advanced training and practice. This is complemented by increased key stakeholder engagements and the diversification of stakeholder relationships in each country to foster sustainability. The project targets marginalized urban neighborhoods in the Caribbean, with a focus on increasing community resilience through engaging youth. In the quarter covered by this report, July 1 to September 30, 2015, the project focused primarily on engaging current stakeholders to position the YEACs as an important Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) resource and increase their visibility. Trainings commenced in St. Lucia and Jamaica, with Grenada slated to begin in October 2015. The project also aimed to increase the number of people trained in disaster preparedness, mitigation, and management, with a target of 2,750 participants. The project's indicators and targets include the number of people trained, the number of trainings conducted, and the percentage of people trained who retain skills and knowledge after two months. The project also aims to increase the number of activities, meetings, or events in which local DRR officials or other local NGOs participate. In Grenada, three key DRR and emergency response vocational skill areas were identified: electrical installation, safe construction, and amateur radio operations. Training in these areas is scheduled to commence in October 2015. In St. Lucia, a meeting was held with the National Emergency Management Organization (NEMO) to discuss the cost extension proposal and commence preliminary conversations about the specific support they can provide. A sensitization session was held with YEAC members to present this year's project goals, objectives, targets, and upcoming activities. Each member received a booklet outlining the project targets and a detailed copy of the activities plan. In Jamaica, 11 youth commenced training in electrical skills at the St. Margaret's Human Resource Centre, based on recommendations from the Jamaica Fire Brigade. The project also aims to increase the number of activities, meetings, or events in which local DRR officials or other local NGOs participate. A total of 18 YEAC members participated in a personal development day activity on August 7th, focusing on dignity and respect.