"First 72 Hours", A Disaster Relief Preparedness Summit for Gwinnett County Faith Leaders

Who could forget the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Sandy? Even with these and other difficult reminders so many of us are still not prepared for an unexpected disaster. Whether the approach is, “It’s never going to happen to me” or another way to put off this important topic, it is essential for the community to understand that being prepared at a time of disaster is key to saving precious lives.

Just recently Gov. Nathan Deal urged Georgians to “get ready” for any unexpected disaster in observing September as the National Disaster Preparedness Month.

Therefore, it is important for the community to know that Gwinnett County faith leaders with the help of Joseph’s Network, Noah’s Ark, and the American Red Cross are organizing a Disaster Relief Preparedness Summit titled “First 72 Hours”, scheduled for October 24 at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Lilburn.

The summit will educate faith leaders how they can help their congregations in the first 3 days when a disaster hits. It will also provide them the opportunity to network with different emergency response agencies such as GEMA, FEMA, Fire Department, American Red Cross, and other faith groups attending.

What makes “First 72 Hours” “one of a kind” is the “inclusiveness” that it brings to the community. An idea that could very well be called the brainchild of Pastor Rhea Posey (of Joseph’s Network) and Carisa Hettich (the Community Outreach office of the American Red Cross-Metro Atlanta Chapter) is unique because grassroots effort of this level for Disaster Relief Preparedness has never brought together such an amazing level of cooperation between different faiths, civic groups, and government agencies.

Pastor Posey always reminds everybody, “Disasters do not discriminate” so how could this program be something exclusive? This is why every faith/civic partner of this planning committee feels welcomed and respected every time they get together.

Representing the Caribbean community in the summit planning committee is Courtney McFarlane who thinks this “summit is important especially for the State of Georgia at this time due to a significant shift in Tornado Alley”. He is also thrilled about this event because many minorities (including his own) have been given the opportunity to help organize it. This sense of ownership generates a sense of pride in each planning committee member and in turn brings the feelings of goodwill to the whole process and it’s mission.

“The Red Cross greatly relies on faith organizations during disaster, so for us, this concept hit many of our ’check marks’”, stated Hettich. Therefore, it is no surprise that this initiative has been considered “best practice” by the National headquarters of the American Red Cross.

The executive director of the non-profit “Noah’s Ark” Corazon Ketchem considers disaster relief preparedness as an integral part of her faith. As a practicing member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, it is her firm belief that the world would experience frequent disasters in the latter days as Jesus prophesized. Therefore, “the concept of building a modern-day ark made sense to us” said Ketchem while talking about how the non-profit Noah’s Ark came about back in 2010.

“Here in GA, 8 out of 10 people still claim to be unprepared to face natural disasters”, added Ketchem and this is not a small percentage. Therefore, the concern for the safety of her own family and everybody else in the community is what drives her to work so passionately for this cause.

Talking about the importance of the summit due to the threat of Tornadoes and the role of faith organizations, Farhat Pall of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community (GA Chapter) said, “Including various faith organizations will help … keep Georgia and it’s residents safe”.

The sponsors deserve kudos for bringing an amazing spirit of friendship, cooperation and love among people of diverse religious and ethnic backgrounds. “It is easier to work with a friend than a stranger”, explained Hettich about how much she enjoys working for this program.

The summit is free and open to all faith-based leaders of Gwinnett County. Anybody interested in partnering with Joseph’s network for this particular event can contact Pastor Rhea Posey at rheaposey@me.com and those who are only interested in attending the event scheduled for October 24 can register at www.josephsnetwork.com.