The Launch of Ang Mo Kio GRC & Yio Chu Kang SMC CEP Plus Cum EP Day
19 October 2008
The Straits Times - 'Plus' force to tackle emergencies
19 October 2008
Grassroots groups in 7 wards in Ang Mo Kio/Yio Chu Kang band together to engage community
By Jamie Ee Wen Wei
There is strength in numbers - critical in building up a community's resilience in times of emergency.
Grassroots organisations (GROs) from seven wards - the six in Ang Mo Kio GRC and single constituency Yio Chu Kang - have banded together to achieve this aim.
Totalling about 500 GROs, they are putting the 'Plus' into an existing vehicle, the Community Engagement Programme (CEP).
Until now, the CEP - which was inaugurated in February 2006 - was limited to individual GROs developing their own networks to act if terror and communal tensions arise.
The new initiative, dubbed the CEP Plus Project, allows the seven constituencies to leverage on one another's capabilities and resources.
They will also work with religious and community partners like schools and volunteer groups to build strong networks of trust.
CEP Plus was mooted in May this year. It is the first time that an entire group representation constituency and a single constituency have engaged in a CEP-driven project.
At a media briefing yesterday, Dr Lam Pin Min, adviser to Sengkang West GROs, who leads the new initiative in Ang Mo Kio, said CEP Plus will be better prepared to handle major catastrophes such as a bomb explosion or an infectious disease outbreak.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, adviser to Teck Ghee GROs, was at the Emergency Preparedness Day held at Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3 yesterday to launch the new initiative.
He said both the grassroots leaders and residents will benefit from the combining of strengths.
'The mutual help between the different wards will be very valuable for the grassroots leaders because it's extra practice working together. For the residents, there's practice, they are familiar, and if ever something happens - we hope never, but just in case - we will be able to respond,' he said.
Note : No reproduction or downloading of this Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) article is allowed in any medium. Permission has to be obtained from SPH.
The New Paper - Greater engagement to build resilience
19 October 2008
Grassroots organisations from seven constituencies in Ang Mo Kio and Yio Chu Kang have rallied together for an elaborate Community Engagement Programme (CEP) to build up the resilience of the community in times of emergency.
Called the CEP Plus Project, the initiative allows the seven constituencies to leverage on each other’s resources, and work with religious and community partners like schools and volunteer groups.
If any major incident were to happen at Ang Mo Kio, for example, there are 700 volunteer who have been trained to be deployed. Their key roles are crowd control, counseling and first aid for victims.
Note : No reproduction or downloading of this Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) article is allowed in any medium. Permission has to be obtained from SPH.
Channel NewsAsia - Community Engagement Programme takes on bigger role
18 October 2008
By S Ramesh
SINGAPORE: The Community Engagement Programme, aimed at preparing Singaporeans in times of disasters or terror attacks, is now taking on a bigger role.
It is involving grassroots and civil defence volunteers from GRCs and adjoining single-member constituencies.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong kicked off the project at the Ang Mo Kio GRC and Yio Chu Kang constituency on Saturday.
A chemical agents "scent" booth is part of the latest interactive public education programme by the Singapore Civil Defence Force. It allows people to sample the smell of simulated chemical agents and teaches them how to react during emergencies.
If any major incident is to happen at the Ang Mo Kio division, there are 700 volunteers who have been trained to be deployed as the first line of defence under Ang Mo Kio's community engagement and emergency preparedness programme.
Among their key roles are crowd control, counselling and first aid for victims.
PM Lee said: "The self help, the sense that if something needs to be done, we can do it, is good... If something really happens – we hope never, but just in case – we will be able to respond."
All over Singapore, nearly 355,000 residents in housing estates and in the commercial and industrial sectors have been trained in emergency preparedness.
Note : No reproduction or downloading of this article is allowed in any medium. Permission has to be obtained from Channel NewsAsia.
Residents work towards a more secure Singapore PKG
18 October 2008
Singapore is not immune to contingencies such as bomb threats and terrorist attacks.
To better prepare themselves for such situations, more than 350 thousand civilians have completed the Community Emergency Preparedness Programme or CEPP, conducted by the Singapore Civil Defence Force.
In line with this, two constituencies - Ang Mo Kio GRC and Yio Chu Kang SMC have for the first time come together to work towards a more resilient Singapore.
They're also the first consituencies in Singapore to obtain the GRC-CEP Ready Certification as well as develop a GRC Crisis Response Plan.
Shaffiq Alkhatib reports.
The two constituencies are now better prepared than ever for dealing with emergencies.
For one, MP for Ang Mo Kio GRC, Dr Lam Pin Min said, the GRC-CEP Ready Certification recognises that they've already attained basic capabilities in engaging residents to build a more resilient community.
Speaking to reporters at the contituencies' Emergency Preparedness Day, Dr Lam said they've also established a core group of community leaders who'll monitor the situation in case of an emergency.
"This core group must be formed by representatives from other stakeholders such as the religious organisations, merchant associations and the schools. The constituency must also come up with an emergency response plan to respond to any incidents. Be it natural disasters or terrorist attacks within the divisions."
The two constituencies have also developed a 500-page GRC Crisis Response Plan to deal with more serious emergency situations.
These include the collapse of buildings and bomb attacks, said Dr Lam.
"It actually entails the plan for the grassroot leaders together with the agencies to come together to respond to the particular incident. Residents are not trained to respond to incidents like these. However, they will be trained in simple first aid, in emergency preparedness so that when anything happens they can provide the first line emergency response."
The Emergency Preparedness Day kicked off near Ang Mo Kio Hub.
