CAER makes a difference in the community
An important trait of CAER is the willingness to make a difference and create awareness in the community about emergency response and related activities.
Established in September 2007, the CAER committee supports the community of Govan Mbeki Municipality in all matters related to emergency response and awareness.
CAER stands for Community Awareness, Emergency Response.
Currently, the CAER committee consists of different members within the GMM community who has a direct interest in emergency response and related activities, the municipality and the police.
CAER members and stakeholders are committed to devoting time, either permanent or additional, to ensure that the community is informed regarding different potential hazards and the means of avoiding or dealing with such situations.
Permanent members are those stakeholders, that are on a day-to-day involved in the execution of emergency activities or activities directly related to and supporting emergency activities. Additional members are co-opted to perform specific tasks as and when identified and required.
ALSO CHECK: CAER holds planned simulation exercise in Evander
The current stakeholders on the CAER committee are Evander Hospital, GMM Disaster Management, GMM Fire and Rescue Services, GMM Traffic Department, ambulance services, HAMNET, Mediclinic Highveld, SANBS, police, Sasol Emergency Management, Sasol Public and Regulatory Affairs and Sasol Road Safety.
The CAER committee is represented on the local disaster management forum by the chairperson or vice chairperson.
“We constantly strive to involve or recruit additional stakeholders to enhance the work we do within the community. To be more effective in what we do requires specialists in different fields.
“The most important trait of course is willingness to make a difference in the community” said Boel Engelbrecht, who is the CAER committee chairperson.
“During the 2022 festive season, 64 A- posters with safety slogans were displayed at different venues throughout the GMM area. There were also 15 safety awareness banners displayed at different locations. During this period 30 000 flyers, 2 300 licence disk stickers and 1 430 bookmarks were issued to community members, motorists, and drivers,” said Engelbrecht.
