The Arfak Mountains district in West Papua geographically has many mountains and forests. Therefore, it is not surprising that disasters or traffic accidents often occur in this area. Basarnas held training for potential SARs in the Arfak Mountains as an anticipatory effort. Here’s the information.
Arfak Mountains Districts
Arfak Mountains is one of the districts in the province of West Papua. Before it expanded and became a new district, it was part of the Manokwari district. Additionally, this district is also home to 12,000 indigenous Papuans. They are the Moley, Meyakh, Hatam, and Sough tribes.
Meanwhile, this regency has geographical conditions in the form of a cluster of mountains with an altitude of 15-2950 meters above sea level. This area is also in the South Manokwari fault line and Wondama Bay.
The Need for Disaster Preparedness in Arfak Mountains District
Due to the extreme geographical conditions, the Arfak Mountains district is one of the areas in Papua which is prone to disasters. Some examples are earthquakes, landslides, and traffic accidents.
Therefore, the SARs team needs to acquire knowledge about evacuation management when facing an emergency situation so they can minimize the risks.
According to I Wayan Suyatna, head of the Manokwari search and rescue office, a disaster is something that can happen at any time. Not only that, disaster can also befall anyone.
Therefore, people can minimize the impact of the disaster, for instance, by preparing human resources who are alert to anticipate risks when a disaster or accident occurs.
In fact, Basarnas has many specific tasks, such as searching, helping, and evacuating victims. Basarnas needs additional assistance to assist victims when a disaster gets out of control. Therefore, additional human resources who are ready for this task are very important.
Training as an Effort to Anticipate Disasters in the Arfak Mountains
One of the government’s efforts to anticipate disasters that might occur in the Arfak Mountains Regency is to prepare human resources or SAR potential.
Therefore, through Basarnas, the government provided technical training to 50 potential SARs in the Arfak Mountains district. The training participants came from several components of government, including:
- the employee of the Arfak Mountain Government
- Members of the TNI/Polri
- Member of the Indonesian Youth National Committee branch of the Arfak Mountains
The training that potential SARs receive is technical Medical First Responder (MFR) training. Meanwhile, this training takes 5 days, from 13-18 March 2023. Training participants will receive MFR technical material, including:
- Introduction to first aid
- Mobility injuries
- Basic life support and cardiopulmonary resuscitation
- Neck and spine injuries
- Relocation of victims
- Bleeding and soft tissue injury
Additionally, the training by Basarnas Manokwari was officially opened by the Regional Secretary of Arfak Regency (Pegaf), Ever Dowansiba.
Apart from the participants, several figures also attended the event, which took place in the hall of the West Papua Province KNPI office. Among them are the head of Basarnas and the head of the Forkopimda of Arfak district.
Appreciation of the Training Program
Ever Dowansiba, regional secretary of the Arfak Mountains District, hopes that the training from Basarnas can increase the capabilities of potential SARs. So, with this ability, they can provide assistance when a disaster or accident occurs in the Arfak Mountains.
Meanwhile, the Regent of Manokwari, Hermus Indou, hopes that the potential SARs who receive training can disseminate this knowledge to all people in Manokwari.
Apart from giving training for potential SARs in the Arfak Mountains, the Indonesian government has also called on Basarnas in other areas to provide similar training. That’s why Basarnas from other areas, such as Banten, Cilacap, Banjarmasin, etc., have also provided training for potential SARs in their area.
