With 174,000 Euros in funding from the Department of Foreign Affairs, Johanniter will initiate a first-aid programme in the Caribbean on June 1, 2009, training 12,000 island residents on emergency medical care.

Together with the local chapter of St. John Ambulance, Johanniter will train one candidate on Antigua & Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, and St. Lucia to become a first-aid instructor. Then, he/she will offer first-aid and disaster prevention courses at schools and community centres on the islands.

The courses will focus on surviving hurricanes, earthquakes, flooding, and landslides. The project aims to prepare 12,000 island residents to administer first-aid in case of a natural disaster, and to take necessary steps, such as organise an evacuation. To ensure that all seven islands receive standardised training, a first-aid guide will be developed, which will also include training guidelines.

Due to the occurrence of hurricanes, earthquakes, volcanic activity, flooding, and other natural disasters, the Caribbean is considered one of the world's high risk regions. In case of a disaster, the population suffers twofold: Not only do residents lose their possessions, which are few to begin with, but often times employed family members are injured or even die. In addition, residents are left to their own devices, because they have little or no knowledge on how to administer first-aid.

Johanniter works on relief projects in 22 countries, focusing on providing basic medical and orthopaedic care. In addition, Johanniter is also active globally, caring for victims of natural disasters, and preparing them for coming disasters.

Visit www.thejohanniter.de for additional information on Johanniter.