Church youth leaders, Eli Mejia and Silvia Grijalva, in El Salvador are prepared to help their communities by responding to emergencies.

"We serve God and youth," says Elí, a 23-year-old man who is a business administration student. He and Silvia were trained in a Churches in Emergency workshop led by World Vision.

Amid backpacks full of lanterns, compasses, GPS, rope, basic medicine, stethoscopes, and other tools, more than 3,000 teens and young adults worked diligently during their training drills. They practiced  emergency triage, water rescue, psycho-spiritual care, care of children in emergencies, using fire extinguishers, administering CPR and other skills.

The purpose of the training, facilitated by World Vision's emergency response team, is to prepare young leaders for emergency response. In times of emergency the church must be prepared to respond to support the most vulnerable people, says Eli.

 

Photo ©2014 Katia Maldonado /World Vision