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Volunteer rescue workers in Lebanon
A training course was held in Beirut at the end of July 2008. This training programme was organised thanks to the joint efforts of the Lebanese Red Cross (LRC), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) through its cooperation office in Amman. A team of specialists from Geneva University Hospitals (HUG) and the Geneva Paramedical College (ECAMB) were also involved. This training course is the first module of a three-year training programme for Lebanese volunteer rescue workers.
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Imagine a country ravaged by more than thirty years of civil war, power struggles, occupation and political chaos. Now imagine a country that is proud of its culture, its highly educated youth, a country whose innovativeness and creativity serve as a springboard for economic recovery. We are talking about one and the same country: Lebanon. "This mission in Lebanon is a magnificent example of collaboration", states Olivier Hagon, who works at Geneva University Hospitals (HUG) as coordinator for Swiss Rescue’s medical module. Together with Béatrice Crettenand Pecorini, teacher at the Geneva Paramedical College (ECAMB), he is also responsible for creating a training module designed for Lebanese volunteer rescue workers. Converging interests Sandrine Tiller, in charge of cooperation activities within the ICRC delegation, was the catalyst of change in this operational sector. She conducted an initial assessment back in 2005, when she was still based at ICRC headquarters in Geneva. In January 2007, she conducted a second assessment to see where things stood after the events of July 2006, which had placed an extremely heavy burden on the LRC’s emergency medical services. The conclusions drawn from this second assessment matched those of the initial study carried out in 2005. The main conclusion: chronic underfunding. "There are 43 Red Cross stations (also referred to as centres) spread out over the Lebanese territory; a total of 2,600 volunteers are deployed there; there is a national emergency hotline, 140, which is available 24 hours/day. This system is based on the “every man for himself” principle. However, this leads to chaos both in terms of the equipment used and the range of services offered. It is time to reach an agreement on the level of services to be provided throughout the national territory and to establish standards and norms that everyone can use as a frame of reference", explains Sandrine Tiller. The ICRC and LRC began prospecting various potential donors. The SDC’s cooperation office in Amman, which covers Jordan, Syria and Lebanon, was among those contacted. It showed immediate interest in the training portion of the five-year National Strategic Plan. Training is the primary objective of the SDC’s regional risk reduction programme for these three countries for 2008-2010. In Bern, the SDC’s Middle East and North Africa Division agreed to provide an annual budget of CHF 340,000 for each of the three years of the programme. This humanitarian aid funding was used to purchase and install the necessary equipment for two mobile training units, which were delivered last July, and subsidize the first training cycle for instructors, trainers and volunteers at the LRC’s Emergency Medical Services Dept. The Lebanese context is one that alternates between periods of calm and periods of renewed political and military hostilities. This risk was taken into account but did not affect preparations for the mission, which took place between October 2007 and July 2008. |
Some photo gallerys: 
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The first session of practical exercises
A certain state of mind called kindness and caring
The course began in the evening of Friday, 18 July 2008 amid intense emotions both on the part of Lebanese volunteers, the
future instructors, as well as on the part of the team of instructors. Everyone wondered whether he/she would be up to the task. The volunteers knew that they would have to absorb a great deal of new
information while nevertheless still putting in their normal working hours. The training courses were held in the evening from 7.00 p.m. to 11.00 p.m. on two week-ends, which was a difficult schedule
for all those concerned.
The first two days were reassuring: practical training went very well using appropriate scenarios; however, the theoretical aspects became bogged down by the language barrier. The 26 volunteers, one-third of whom were young women, demonstrated an astonishing ability to adapt to circumstances and were very good with clinical aspects. Their long years of experience had also instilled in them a permanent attitude of kindness and caring.
As for the team of instructors, the ICRC and the SDC, Sandrine Tiller and Santi Vege, head of the SDC’s cooperation office in Amman, the feeling was one of amazement "that such an original pilot partnership had generated such an extraordinary atmosphere." There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that this experience will lead to other constructive ideas for the future.
Olivier Hagon described the experience thus: "Apart from the speed with which this project was carried out, prepared in only nine months time, what struck me most was the sense of harmony felt by all of the people involved.” This can be explained by the quality of the partnerships established, but especially by the strong motivation and adaptability of the 26 Lebanese volunteers who attended the 140 hours of training given by an SDC-sponsored team formed in Switzerland. Béatrice Crettenand Pecorini had this to say: "People working in the pre-hospital sector are used to dealing with emergencies on a day-to-day basis. They know how to adapt quickly." This is what created the sense of unity in this training course. It is a good sign for a project whose main purpose is to introduce more standardised and harmonised lifesaving techniques.
Reportage Michèle Mercier
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| Some members of the project team, now at full strength, comprising: | ||
| SDC project team | LRC team of instructors | SDC Amman |
| Olivier Hagon Anaesthetist and emergency physician at Geneva University Hospitals (HUG) |
Georges Kettaneh National Director, Emergency Medical Services Dept. |
Santi Vege Head of the SDC’s coof |
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Béatrice Crettenand Pecorini |
Nabih Jabr |
Christian Boss deputy head of the SDC’s coof |
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Lionel Dumont |
Rachelle Saadeh Training Coordinator Assistant, Emergency Medical Services Dept |
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| Jean-Daniel Junod Nurse anaesthetist at Geneva University Hospitals (HUG) |
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| Florian Ozainne Teacher at ECAMB, paramedic |
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Jean-Luc Danckaert |
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