ICS-Kar - Karaoke for Officials

Dear Elected Official, Dear College President, Dear Executive, Dear NGO Board,

We would like to invite you to join our group for karaoke.

During our time in Asia Pacific, it has been amazing how many senior people from universities, government, NGOs, etc. would go out and karaoke with us. We could never imagine doing that back home.

Pictured above is a city administrator in the Philippines and also one of the leaders of the Scouts in Canada.

We have had great hospitality during our projects here. And karaoke and plenty of food helped everyone get to know each other better. We could not thank everyone here enough for the experience that will be with us for a lifetime.

Anyone who is willing to take me up on my offer to karaoke, we plan to actually purchase a karaoke unit, so see you soon. We can also share our experiences working with other cultures and other parts of this GLOBAL world! We all have a lot to learn.

Say, Hear, Do... No really go do it!

Throughout our time here in the Philippines, I had the opportunity to teach several train-the-trainer (T3) courses.

Pictured below are some of the trainers from Central 911, teaching the senior year nursing students at Doctor's College.

Throughout our discussions, trainning sessions, exercises, mentoring, and other activities, there was one message that was regularly conveyed. It is important to "Say, Hear, Do".

An instructor or mentor can get up in front of an audience and "Say" their message. We can have the audience "Hear" what we say. But it is up to YOU to "Do".

We have presented many skills to help enable the people of the region. It is now time for you to enable yourselves and share this with others.

Yesterday, during the final exam in disaster management and the mass casualty incident (MCI) drill, we did just that with the students.

As pictured with some of the students below, we took the learning to a new level, where I played a victim instructor, adding to the learning, not only for the students but also for the instructors from Central 911.

While it was extremely fun for everyone involved, there were several key learning messages that everyone took away. It was also a great opportunity to see several of the trainers, who were teaching, to see them take the Incident Command System (ICS) and teach it to others.

This group of future nurses is now better prepared for an MCI. "Job Well Done!" to both the students and instructors. And what ever you do, always remember to "Take It Up A Notch" and always reach for your goals.

Thank you again to the Doctor's College instructor (who is a Philippines National Red Cross Volunteer as well), the instructors of Central 911, and all the students, for letting me be a part of this class.

Volunteer Orientation

During our volunteer fellowship, we had the opportunity to work with many college students, faculty, and deans at many colleges in the region.


This morning, we observed the orientation given by the City Tourism Operations Office, for the big festival that starts next week. Several of the items presented to the college level student volunteers include:

• Do not say no, give an alternative
  


• Do not crack under pressure
  


• Do not say it is not my job
  


• Do not say I do not know.

These recommendations can apply to all volunteer projects.


We are really looking forward to the festival, as it will give us the opportunity to meet some of the local tribe leaders and even potentially ask them about emergency preparedness.