Africa-Press – Mauritius. A five-day Training of trainers seminar, held, yesterday, at Côte d’Or National Sports Complex, kicked off the ‘Jeunes Sapeurs-pompiers’ programme (young firefighters), an initiative of the Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Sports and Recreation, under the ‘Youth Volunteer Mauritius’, in collaboration with the French Embassy.
The objective of the ‘Jeunes Sapeurs-pompiers’ programme is to create a pool of young volunteers, equipped with the necessary skills to assist in dealing with life threatening situations such as flash floods, fires and other natural disasters.
The Minister of Youth Empowerment, Sports and Recreation, Mr Stephan Toussaint, was present at the event, together with Commandant Eric Ulrich from Sapeurs-pompiers du Var, France, and other personalities.
Some 25 people from the Mauritius Fire and Rescue Service, the Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Sports and Recreation, the Mauritius Police Force, the Mauritius Sports Council, Fellowship First Aiders, the Mauritius Red Cross Society, and St John Ambulance Mauritius are participating in the Training of trainers seminar. The resource persons are experienced firefighters from Sapeurs-pompiers du Var.
In his address, Minister Toussaint recalled that ‘Youth Volunteer Mauritius’ endeavoured to train young volunteers so that they were able to play a supportive role in the country. He underlined that the purpose of the ‘Jeunes Sapeurs-pompiers’ programme was to provide opportunities to young people to acquire knowledge and skills in prompt rescue, handling firefighting equipment, life saving techniques, while enhancing their active participation and engagement in society. The Minister affirmed that a first batch of young people would embark upon the ‘Jeunes Sapeurs-pompiers’ programme, following the Training of trainers seminar.
According to Mr Toussaint, young people in difficult situations in life would be urged to enrol in the programme with a view to inculcate to them positive values and discipline. He added that the initiative would also enable the Ministry to have a team of qualified volunteers to make sure everything run smoothly during national and international sporting events.
For his part, Commandant Eric Ulrich from Sapeurs-pompiers du Var stated that they were working on the draft framework that would establish the learning and development structure of the future young firefighters programme for Mauritius, based on their experience, the local context as well as tailored to the specific needs of the country. He highlighted that young people who would participate in the programme would be called upon to become security ambassadors in schools, and might join the Mauritius Fire and Rescue Service later on, thereby increasing the cohort of professional firefighters.
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