Lifestyle/Community
The CSO has partnered with ZAKA International
Under the auspices of the CSO, selected members of the Johannesburg Jewish community last week underwent an intensive training course to further prepare the community to deal with any mass casualty incident or potential terror attack and to equip them to return to normal as quickly as possible thereafter.
JEVON GREENBLATT
DIRECTOR CSO GAUTENG
The CSO, in partnership with international humanitarian volunteer organisation ZAKA International, has undertaken to further enhance the CSO’s current IMS (Incident Management System) plan, drawing on the networks, and experience of ZAKA.
IMS refers to incidents as small as information gathering to the handling of a large scale disaster. The CSO has in place processes and procedures to deal with them all in real time and does so on a daily basis.
The CSO said in a media release that the ZAKA International Rescue Unit, which is recognised by the UN as has trained volunteers all over the world, including in America, Europe and Asia.
“This is particularly relevant now, as the terror threat grows ever more global and local communities are trained and equipped to deal with mass casualty. The volunteers have worked at natural disasters such as those in Nepal, Haiti, Japan and Thailand and at terror attacks including those in Paris, Mumbai, Mombasa and Bali.
“Any successful mass casualty incident plan requires the co-ordination and co-operation of numerous communal and non-communal organisations and, as such, key people from some of these organisations have been invited to form part of this newly-formed unit within the CSO.
“These skills will not only benefit our community, but will also benefit our fellow South Africans,” the CSO says.