IsraAID brings professional training to California following wildfires

IsraAID's first informational training session dealt with the global humanitarian landscape, players in the field, and ethical considerations of aid.

By ZACHARY KEYSER
IsraAID Greeting Syrian refugees on a Greek beach. (photo credit: MICKEY NOAM-ALON / ISRAAID)
IsraAID Greeting Syrian refugees on a Greek beach.
(photo credit: MICKEY NOAM-ALON / ISRAAID)
After the deadly wildfires that plagued southern California earlier this year, the IsraAID Humanitarian Professionals Network (IHPN) has started training "dozens" of professionals from the health care and engineering fields in the southern California to learn more about humanitarian aid and disaster relief directly from the Israeli NGO.
IsraAID created the professionals network last month and has already began holding seminars for professionals who regularly assist communities after disaster strikes.
February 21st, IsraAID will be holding an upcoming informational session that focuses on what to do as a community and as a professional the moment after a disaster hits - the session is titled "The Day After the Disaster: The Next Steps of Humanitarian Aid."
These sessions are meant to raise awareness to "man-made and natural disasters catalyzes change for vulnerable populations worldwide, applies professional skills as part of IsraAID missions, and acquires the know-how to respond to local disasters."
IsraAID employs a team of "leading" Israeli and international humanitarian aid experts in addition to working in emergency and long term development programs in 49 countries across the world.
IsraAID, since it's founding in 2001 has responded to and assisted with emergencies all across the world, providing lifesaving relief and sustainable solutions for those areas affected by disaster - many times even helping out and rushing to the aid of countries with no diplomatic relations with Israel.
February's IHPN event features a presentation by Tim Burke, a PhD candidate in urban and regional planning at the University of Michigan, who lived in South Sudan for more than five years overseeing an array of public health, disaster response, and sustainability initiatives.
Burke's current work has been focusing on post-disaster development and collaborative planning.
In the audience for the IHPN's second training session will be physicians, nurses, mental health professionals and water engineers who may need to race to the rescue in a disaster situation.
The session will provide these participants with the skills to respond directly to emergency situations and will help them learn the roles first responders have during a crisis through "unique, experiential activity simulating the role of humanitarian aid workers."
The first training session dealt with the global humanitarian landscape, players in the field, and ethical considerations of aid.
The end goal of the IHPN program will be to ultimately provide health and engineering professionals with a basic understanding of the key components needed to respond to a disaster, maintaining and even extending the philosophies and ideals of the Israeli disaster relief NGO.


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