Alkhidmat Foundation would train 10,000 volunteers for emergency response during ongoing year: Fazal Mehmood

RAWALPINDI, June 21 (SABAH): National Director Disaster Management Alkhidmat Foundation Pakistan, Fazal Mehmood has said that disasters were encircling the entire world rapidly as Pakistan remains under the influence of floods, earthquakes and other natural calamities.

Fazal Mehmood expressed these views on the culmination ceremony of three-day disaster management workshop held with the collaboration of Alkhidmat Foundation Northern Punjab and Rescue 1122. On this occasion, Regional President Northern Punjab Rizwan Ahmed, Ghazan Iqbal, Khawaja Waqar Ahmed Khan and other guests also expressed their views.

During the ongoing year, Fazal Mehmood said the Alkhidmat Foundation would train 10,000 volunteers to prepare them for rescues, relief and rehabilitation work. He said that after work by the central team, training at the regional level was underway and added in the next phase, training would be imparted at the district level.

He further said that 23 Emergency Response Centres had been established so far, saying “Alkhidmat Rescue Bike Service” was also going to be initiated for the mountainous areas while “Rescue Truck” was in final stage. In the next phase, he said the Alkhidmat Foundation would be working with regards to helicopter ambulance and added they wanted to strike agreements with the professional institutions.

During the ceremony, the volunteers were awarded the certificates. National Director Disaster Management Alkhidmat Foundation Pakistan further said that Alkhidmat’s volunteers were continuing their services across the world including Pakistan. In Türkiye, he said the Alkhidmat Foundation undertook relief activities, demonstrating ideal discipline where 50,000 people died and more than 20 million people affected from the earthquake, and added such a discipline was a need of hour on these occasions. A number of people, he said trapped under the debris and were wailing after the earthquake. 

Fazal Mehmood said that positive or negative responsive during accidents or disasters was very important element and added majority of the people fully support in these circumstances while feeling pain of victims. He was of the view that volunteers were a wealth of any institution or nation who consume their time, money and lives for the sake of miserable people.

During this three-day workshop, he said the volunteers obtained a lot of information as well as training which will prove beneficial for them in their own districts and that they should pass on these training in their own districts and areas while playing their role in preparing the youth for facing with emergencies.