DEARBORN — On Tuesday, December 10, the City of Dearborn kicked off a week-long advanced training session for a group of volunteers from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), who were in town to receive training from the police and fire department’s Community Emergency Response Team (CERT).

The CERT program is based on assembling volunteers to undergo emergency response training in order to properly assist communities in a time of crisis or weather emergencies. In 2012,  Dearborn’s CERT program was recognized as the most outstanding in the state, offering full training sessions to residents in the City who were willing to volunteer.  

Since its inception, over 450 residents in Dearborn have undergone CERT training with the City. The volunteers are often used as liaisons with the police and fire departments at city hosted events such as the Memorial Day Parade, Homecoming and Elderfest. They are also kept in the loop during emergency situations such as a tornado, heavy flooding or a missing person search.

Dearborn’s CERT program extended its services in 2009-2010, when city officials traveled to the UAE to provide training to volunteers for an emergency response and training group named SANID, which means ‘support’ in Arabic. This year, the two groups convened once again, with the City hosting 12 UAE volunteers at the Ford Community and Performing Arts Center.

Throughout the week-long sessions, the UAE volunteers received training from Dearborn Fire Chief Joe Murray, Dearborn Police Chief Ron Haddad,  Michigan State Police Captain and head of Homeland Security Division Chris Kalinski and Michigan CERT Representative Wendy Galbreath.

Participants from UAE stand with members from Dearborn’s CERT team.

At the kick-off on Tuesday, Mayor Jack O’Reilly welcomed the UAE volunteers and explained the protocols and procedures the City has implemented in case of a crisis. Examples included emergency management training for all department heads and building an emergency center in the basement of the Performing Arts Center, which would be able to operate all city emergency units in one closed location in case of an emergency.  

Khaled Al Tenaji, UAE program manager of SANID, told reporters that his organization has similar iniatives to CERT, recruiting and training residents in numerous areas of their country since the organization was formed in 2009. 

With 4,000 volunteers across the UAE, SANID has not only trained residents in its country, but has also extended its assistance in emergency situations in other nations, including Pakistan.  Last year, during the aftermath of the Hurricane Sandy crisis, the group visited the U.S. to help families rebuild damaged homes as well. 

Sultan Almheir, a member of SANID, tells The Arab American News that the group of volunteers are excited to be in Michigan and hope to learn some advanced skills to take back with them.

Almheir says that while SANID has had plenty of first-hand experience in emergency situations, the group would still like to learn more about traffic control and rescuing animals. He recalls a recent situation in his country involving a 200 car pile up. 

“One of our initiatives here is to learn about traffic control in the CERT program. How we can be better able to manage traffic and control traffic during a time of crisis,” Almheir says. “Personally, I also have a love for animals and I would like to learn more about animal rescue initiatives, because there is a lack of that in the UAE.”

During the kick-off of the training sessions on Tuesday, the group also surprised Mayor O’Reilly with a certificate of appreciation. 

“We would like to thank the City for all their support and coordination to make this possible. They have been very hospitable and my team is very excited to be in Michigan,” Al Tenaji says. “Even though we came from a different part of the world, we really feel like we are at home here. Although, we are not used to all this cold.”

The volunteer group won’t all be strictly business while in town. During their free time they plan to visit some of Dearborn’s top attractions, including the Arab American National Museum, The Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village.

Meanwhile the City says they are always looking for new CERT volunteers. Citizens who live or work in Dearborn are eligible to apply for the program, which offers training in both English and Arabic. 

CERT team members must be at least 18 years of age.  Minors 17 and younger may train when accompanied by an adult and can join the team once they become 18. All training and equipment is free. For more information on CERT, contact Emergency Management Coordinator Bradley Smith at 313.943.5470 or visit the CERT website at //www.ready.gov/citizen-corps.