Gulf Coast Citizen Diplomacy Council

In mid-July, the Gulf Coast Citizen Diplomacy Council welcomed six delegates from Pakistan whose program of study was “Reconstruction, Disaster Relief and Crisis Management.”  The delegation was interested primarily in learning about the role of all levels of government in emergency management and disaster relief and in discovering best practices in emergency preparedness and recovery.  They also were interested in the performance of relief organizations in the U.S. and in establishing contacts with individuals and organizations working in relief efforts within the U.S. and abroad.

To start their time in Pensacola, the group volunteered at First United Methodist Church feeding the homeless with the Homeless Plus Team. Barbara Vititow, program coordinator, welcomed and introduced our guests to the program.  Afterwards, they traveled to United Way of Escambia County to meet with Bruni Emmanuel, director of the EscaRosa Coalition on the Homeless.  He gave the Pakistani visitors an overview of the community and how the EscaRosa Coalition on the Homeless works to address emergency planning procedures and post-emergency response efforts.  Later, the team visited West Florida Hospital to meet with Natalie Saeber, director of Emergency Services, to learn about emergency room procedures and the role of the hospital during natural disasters.

On their second day of appointments, they met with Celeste Southyard, executive director for Appetite for Life, and Marcus Ditty and received an overview of the work they do and to understand how its services are affected during times of crisis.  They then visited the Bay Area Food Bank to meet with branch manager Paul Clements to observe an organization devoted to alleviating hunger in the community and promoting food security.  Later that day Daniel Hahn, Santa Rosa County Emergency Management Plans Chief & Citizen Corps Coordinator, met with the group to show them an activated emergency operations center and to discuss remaining questions about issues in our area.

Thank you to all of our community leaders who helped to make this program a success.