I love this story from the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences about how Georgia 4-H, a part of UGA Extension, is offering the My Preparedness Initiative (My PI) program to provide students with extensive training to be better equipped in case of emergencies. According to the story here, the students have to be able to do several things in order to graduate from the program. Students must complete three steps: (1) complete FEMA-certified Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training; (2) gain CPR and automatic external defribrillator certification and learn about specialized technology and career tracks; and (3) complete Prep+6, which requires students to work with their families and six other households to compile supply kits and create emergency plans.
What a great idea as Georgia as well as other states become more vulnerable to natural disasters due to both changes in climate and increases in vulnerable populations. Helping your neighbors after an extreme weather event is an important way to recover after a disaster even before emergency personnel can get to the area.
For more information about the My PI program and to read testimonials from teens who have completed the training, visit www.mypigeorgia.org.
