On Sunday October 4, 2015 the second training course for the Dafeh initiative, a part of the larger national Dafeh program, took place. This intensive five-day course was attended by 25 underclassmen and upperclassmen from different disciplines throughout the University, along with five former Dafeh Inspiration Shield members and taught by certified instructors from both UoD and the outside community.
The course began with an introduction to the National Dafeh Program, where the Dafeh Shields fielded inquiries regarding tribal exam questions. The trainees were then divided into the following five groups: Nation Shields, Elite Shields, Safety Falcons, Safety Lightning and the Forearms.
The Dafeh Shields trained and developed the students’ skills in several areas, including: how to prevent disasters, how to act during a crises, techniques to use to lessen the initial shock during a panic attack and the difference between a disaster and a crises. The Dafeh Shields shared what they had learned from their own experiences, what type of incidents they had helped with and what their initial responses were.
By the final day of training, the students had developed their ability to think rationally and clearly in a stressful situation, they learned how to devise a well thought out plan quickly and had developed the skills to make informed, proper decisions during a disaster related evacuation by learning from the building evacuation exercises they had experienced in this intensive training program.
The members of the Dafeh Inspirations played an important role in this program by accompanying the Dafeh Shields throughout their training. Their insight and experience opened up new dimensions for the Dafeh Shields that have influenced them in selecting sustainable awareness development projects, which can be adapted in the future
Since most disasters are largely man-made, usually as a result of poor planning, the Dafeh Shields have perfected the skill of preventing crowd disasters. The Dafeh Shields also received extensive training on the proper use of different kinds of fire extinguishers, the risks they may cause and how to avoid such risks. This type of program would not be complete without training the Dafeh Shields in First Aid and familiarize themselves with the limits of each paramedic.
The training course concluded with a screening of a documentary, where a number of the program’s founders attended. The documentary summarized the second training program for the Dafeh Project, focusing on the skills acquired and the values that were imparted.
