/ Jun 20, 2026
Trending

News Elementor

RECENT NEWS

IOM Assists in Strengthening Dominica’s Emergency Communication Network

In the upcoming weeks, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in collaboration with the Dominica Amateur Radio Club Inc (DARCI) will offer training in amateur radio operation (ham radios) with a specialization in emergency communication. At the end of the training, trainees will sit exams and successful candidates will receive the international ham radio certification.  Thirty ham radio sets are also being provided for emergency shelters and targeted communities across the island as part of an emergency preparedness program funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented by IOM.

Following Hurricane Maria in 2017, the telecommunications sector sustained a devastating blow, estimated at EC $128 million in damages; coupled with a complete shutdown of traditional means of communication for nearly three days.  Major service providers: Digicel and Flow took months to restore service island wide; with no power, phones or internet Dominica was dependent on amateur radio to contact the outside world.

Given the experience in Dominica where traditional telecommunications networks were down after Hurricane David in 1979, and again in 2017 for almost 3 days after Hurricane Maria, investing in strengthening the government’s emergency communications network, including ham radio equipment and trained operators is a clear priority” Community Engagement Officer for the IOM, Maxine-Alleyne Esprit explained.  “This training in amateur radio operation, and provision of 30 ham radio sets is one aspect of support that IOM is offering under a USAID project to support the government of Dominica in improving the preparedness of communities for emergencies.”

The Government oversees the telecommunications sector through the Director of Telecommunications as well as the National Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (NTRC), under the Ministry of Information, Science, Telecommunications and Technology.  Along with the private telecoms networks, the emergency communications network has been designed to exist within the purview of the Emergency Operating Center (EOC).

The NTRC and DARCI, have assisted us with identifying the communities where the greatest gaps exist, and we have collaboratively developed a training package and plan best suited to address those issues.  We have also directly targeted people with disabilities through the DAPD (Dominica Association of People with Disabilities).”   Sessions will start from Wednesday 30 January 2019 at the St. Mary’s Academy.

Interested participants are expected to fill out a registration form and provide a police record to the IOM before enrolling in the class.

Meanwhile, the Office of Disaster Management (ODM) is soliciting individuals interested in receiving training in disaster-related areas to contact them via email at odmdominica@gmail.com or by phone or WhatsApp at 285-0794.

In the upcoming weeks, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in collaboration with the Dominica Amateur Radio Club Inc (DARCI) will offer training in amateur radio operation (ham radios) with a specialization in emergency communication. At the end of the training, trainees will sit exams and successful candidates will receive the international ham radio certification.  Thirty ham radio sets are also being provided for emergency shelters and targeted communities across the island as part of an emergency preparedness program funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented by IOM.

Following Hurricane Maria in 2017, the telecommunications sector sustained a devastating blow, estimated at EC $128 million in damages; coupled with a complete shutdown of traditional means of communication for nearly three days.  Major service providers: Digicel and Flow took months to restore service island wide; with no power, phones or internet Dominica was dependent on amateur radio to contact the outside world.

Given the experience in Dominica where traditional telecommunications networks were down after Hurricane David in 1979, and again in 2017 for almost 3 days after Hurricane Maria, investing in strengthening the government’s emergency communications network, including ham radio equipment and trained operators is a clear priority” Community Engagement Officer for the IOM, Maxine-Alleyne Esprit explained.  “This training in amateur radio operation, and provision of 30 ham radio sets is one aspect of support that IOM is offering under a USAID project to support the government of Dominica in improving the preparedness of communities for emergencies.”

The Government oversees the telecommunications sector through the Director of Telecommunications as well as the National Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (NTRC), under the Ministry of Information, Science, Telecommunications and Technology.  Along with the private telecoms networks, the emergency communications network has been designed to exist within the purview of the Emergency Operating Center (EOC).

The NTRC and DARCI, have assisted us with identifying the communities where the greatest gaps exist, and we have collaboratively developed a training package and plan best suited to address those issues.  We have also directly targeted people with disabilities through the DAPD (Dominica Association of People with Disabilities).”   Sessions will start from Wednesday 30 January 2019 at the St. Mary’s Academy.

Interested participants are expected to fill out a registration form and provide a police record to the IOM before enrolling in the class.

Meanwhile, the Office of Disaster Management (ODM) is soliciting individuals interested in receiving training in disaster-related areas to contact them via email at odmdominica@gmail.com or by phone or WhatsApp at 285-0794.

It is a long established fact that a reader will be distracted by the readable content of a page when looking at its layout. The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution of letters, as opposed to using ‘Content here, content here’, making it look like readable English. Many desktop publishing packages and web page editors now use Lorem Ipsum as their default model text, and a search for ‘lorem ipsum’ will uncover many web sites still in their infancy.

It is a long established fact that a reader will be distracted by the readable content of a page when looking at its layout. The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution of letters, as opposed to using ‘Content here, content here’, making it look like readable English. Many desktop publishing packages and web page editors now use Lorem Ipsum as their default model text, and a search for ‘lorem ipsum’ will uncover many web sites still in their infancy.

The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution of letters, as opposed to using ‘Content here, content here’, making

The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution of letters, as opposed to using ‘Content here, content here’, making it look like readable English. Many desktop publishing packages and web page editors now use Lorem Ipsum as their default model text, and a search for ‘lorem ipsum’ will uncover many web sites still in their infancy.

EmoNews Contributor

RECENT POSTS

CATEGORIES

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

SUBSCRIBE US

We’re excited to introduce Emonew, Dominica’s fresh new source for general country news. From community updates to national stories, we’re here to keep you informed, connected, and up to date.

Copyright Emonews 2025