In respect of the MOU signed between Tzu Chi and Malaysia Airlines (MAS) to provide support in the event of any air disaster or emergency, MAS Emergency Management Centre and Tzu Chi jointly organized a two-day training course at Tzu Chi Malacca. 60 Tzu Chi volunteers attended this course. A total of 60 volunteers from various Tzu Chi chapters attended the "Humanitarian Support & Service Training" given by MAS.(Photograph by Chong Ho Teck)

Madam Intan said the key criterion to be a successful caregiver is to have selfless love and empathy.

The participants having a discussion session.

The two-day training course was held on 6 and 7 February 2010 in the Multi-purpose Classroom at Tzu Chi Malacca.

“Besides a valid passport and Tzu Chi uniform, we should perhaps bring along some Jing Si Aphorisms booklets (a collection of maxims by Tzu Chi’s founder Master Cheng Yen).” Participants were actively discussing about items they should prepare before departing for the disaster area.

The participants were presented with a case study that involved a MAS plane crash in Auckland. Given this scenario, and as caregivers, how should they prepare for their flight to Auckland at very short notice?

Since the signing of the MOU for cooperation in 2007, MAS Emergency Management Centre had invited Tzu Chi volunteers to three of their seminars and training courses. To date, about 30 Tzu Chi volunteers from Malacca and Kuala Lumpur have attended the Centre’s “Humanitarian Support and Service Training”.

As Tzu Chi has chapters all over Malaysia, both Tzu Chi and MAS reckoned it would be good to hold the course at Tzu Chi headquarters in Malacca which will enable volunteers from various chapters to attend.

The course, conducted in English, covered the following:
1. Introduction to the programme
2. Survivors' handling processes
3. Knowing your role as caregivers
4. Case studies
5. Closing & long-term issues in post-disaster management

Know your role

Madam Intan, the trainer, said that to be a successful caregiver, it is most important for one to have selfless love and empathy. She also covered the issues concerning ethnic group/background, common spoken language, close cultural background, common religion, gender, and so on.

In addition, participants were told to respect survivors’ response/behaviour. This is because the survivors will be under extreme emotional stress, causing them to react irrationally, or to be easily agitated. Such respect should take into consideration the background, religion, culture and belief of the survivors. Under any emergency circumstances, the wisdom of the volunteers will be tested.

Brother Li Yong Ming from Kota Kinabalu, Sabah found the course informative, saying what he learnt in this classroom could also be applied to other emergency cases. Tzu Chi Kota Kinabalu has had the experience of helping several families of tourists met with accidents on their tour to Kota Kinabalu with funeral arrangements. Brother Li believed the course will enhance the volunteers’ ability to deal with such emergency cases in future.

Brother Lin Sheng Zhi from Klang, Selangor commented that skills learnt in this course, both technical and soft skills, will also be helpful in other Tzu Chi work.

Important skills

During the course, several volunteers, who have gained experience from relief missions to Sri Lanka (tsunami), Myanmar (cyclone) and Tioman Island (ferry tragedy), gave some caregivers tips to their counterparts.

They were told that as caregivers, they must “not make promises they cannot deliver”. Instead, they should “always listen, be contactable and approachable at all times”. They could “give suggestions, but not make decisions for the victim’s family”. A caregiver is also expected to “be empathic and not pass judgment under any circumstances”.

These, in fact, are also the basic skills a Tzu Chi volunteer must adhere to while carrying out home visits to the care recipients.

Every participant learnt a lot from this carefully prepared course, and special thanks to the trainers who had delivered their programmes in such a lively manner.

In his closing speech, Mr Fauzan, Manager of Emergency Management Centre, thanked Tzu Chi volunteers for their enthusiasm in learning because many questions were raised during the course. This clearly showed the volunteers’ sincerity to the cooperation.

It is hoped that this group of trained volunteers will readily take on responsibilities in times of disaster as well as share the knowledge with other volunteers. By so doing, more volunteers can be mobilized to provide the needed support to survivors and their families in any disaster, although we sincerely hope that will never occur.