CATEGORY:DISASTER PREPAREDNESS ------------------------------------ INSIDE GRENADA Saturday March 17,2007 by Rawle Titus ST.GEORGE’S: The North East District Disaster Committee has drawn up a set of plans in an effort to boost its ability to respond to natural disasters. The plans were hammered out during a one-day brain storming session at the Fort Fredericks headquarters of the National Disaster Management Agency (NaDMA) Friday. The North East District wants to improve its level of organization and says its plans are designed to do just that. It was agreed that top priority will be given to shelter management, transportation and capacity building. Coordinator Kelvin Dottin says a big focus this year, is conflict resolution. “Conflict resolution, since will be working with communities where you have lots of conflicts and some of these people will be coming to shelters and will be coming into contact with each other” Dottin said. The committee is planning to embark on a public awareness campaign in the villages and is also seeking more volunteers in Disaster Management. This year’s agenda also includes movie nights on Disaster Management themes as well as church visits. Dottin says the committee has performed well largely through people’s participation. “If you want persons to work along with you, you have to give them ownership” Dottin said. “So one of the main things with our group is that persons on the committee own the process. It’s not something where two or three individuals to dictate to them”. The North East District Disaster Committee is one of 17 operating in the tri island state.