Members of the Fraternity – International Humanitarian Missions (FIHM) that are active in the Colombia Mission are participating in a course on combating the new Coronavirus (COVID-19) offered by the Red Cross.
The basic training is occurring during a time of great need for understanding what it is and how to combat the spread of the new Coronavirus. The course is offered to the members of the Colombia Mission and for all residents in Colombian territory.
The objective is to train the local communities on how to face the pandemic. Colombia, as well as many other countries, has been taking extremely important measures to prevent the spread of the virus, such as a quarantine in the cities and social isolation. The Red Cross emphasizes the need for providing the information and recommendations given by the World Health Organization (WHO).
The course is made up of three modules that last four hours each. It is being done between March 26 and April 13. The participants will carry out an evaluation to attest to their understanding of the content and will then receive a certificate from the Red Cross.
On its digital platform, the organization adds the need for including online courses to equalize access to the information:
“The National Society of the Colombian Red Cross chooses to start virtual courses within its academic options for a better social inclusion and learning opportunity targeting anyone with an Internet connection, managing the modality of distance learning courses available widespread to Colombia and the world.”
Priscila Vasques, a missionary of Fraternity – International Humanitarian Missions (FIHM) and coordinator of the Colombia Mission, speaks about the importance of the missionaries being able to participate in and contribute to the training: “we need to understand how this new reality is impacting the humanitarian response, since we are already involved in that movement. We need to be familiar with the measures of prevention and how all the health organizations responsible are working in the whole world, mainly in the regions where we are active, because it has direct implications in our activities and consequently on the population that benefits.”
