BY: ROI ANTHONI B. LOMOTAN
VALENCIA, Negros Oriental, June 2 (PIA) – Negros media men are now empowered to face crisis and disaster situations arising in their area.
This after a group of 28 print and broadcast journalists from Negros Oriental and Negros Occidental graduated from a recent Energy Camp for Negros Media organized by the Energy Development Corporation (EDC) on May 29-31 at the Southern Negros Geothermal Project site in Valencia town.
The camp was focused on providing experiential learning on disaster response, survival and environmental conservation to its participants.
For two-days, campers were engaged on various physical activities that equipped them with practical knowledge in facing disasters or emergencies.
Dr. Ted Esguerra, EDC’s Disaster and Crisis Team Head demonstrated to the campers some tips on emergency response and survival. He also gave them tips on how to prevent disasters or accidents or how to deal with them in case they happen.
Dr. Esguerra’s main advice to media men was to avoid being victims of disasters and always be prepared. He said being prepared means knowing the possible hazards in the areas,having a plan for safety or emergency in case disasters happen and piling up food and equipment for evacuation.
Negros journalists were then divided into groups and were put in a situation where a member must play as a victim while others play as rescuers to test what they have learned during their exercise.
Esguerra hoped that through the activity, media men will become more active in influencing other people to prepare for crises.
Aside from this, Esguerra also shared some basic defense skills to help journalists protect themselves.
Meanwhile, the highlight of the whole camp was the mini-“Amazing Race” which had five main challenges namely the “Bakya” walk, wall rappelling, mind puzzles, wall climbing and the zipline “Slide for life” challenges.
There were also “pit stops” or parts of the race where facilitators asked campers some questions about EDC.
Also part of the camp were the lectures on geothermal energy and EDC’s programs focused on community development.
An EDC representative discussed the Health, Education, Livelihood and Environment (HELEn) program that addresses the concerns of the host community and the environment.
Moreover, campers also learned about EDC’s BINHI program which is centered on environmental conservation through tree planting activities.
Campers were then brought to a tree planting site where they planted Mabolo trees. The activity aimed to illicit Negros media’s commitment in conserving the environment.
For 11 years, EDC has been conducting energy camps for its scholars and employee’s children every summer. This is the first time that the company organized a camp for media practitioners.
“Our aim is to provide the same experiential learning environment to the Negros media who have been covering EDC and the energy camp all these years,” said John Arnaldo, EDC’s Vice President for Corporate Affairs. (mbcn/ral/PIA7-NegOr)