• Kisii Governor James Ongwae said he would be happy if more aid continues to trickle in to help improve the capacity of disaster officers.
• Mark Lyde, a senior fire official, said they have forged a long-term partnership with the regional governments to train officers in disaster response.
Kisii and Nyamira counties on Wednesday received equipment to boost disaster management in the region.
The equipment, worth millions of shillings, was donated by Minnesota-based Tetra Investment and Fire Rescue and Disaster Management.
Items donated include boots, smoke detectors, rescue ropes, trousers, coats, caps and gloves.
The donation was the second for Kisii in less than six years from Minnesota.
Kisii Governor James Ongwae said he would be happy if more aid continues to trickle in to help improve the capacity of disaster response officers.
“We thank these officers from the US for partnering with us on this cause,” he said.
"We are still missing out on equipment that will aid in the training of more of our officers. Any help would be highly welcome,” the governor added.
He spoke at Ufanisi Resort in Kisii during the end of a two-day seminar for 100 hundred disaster officers from the two counties.
Fifty officers from each of the two counties participated in the event.
Mark Lyde, a senior fire official, said they have forged a long-term partnership with the regional governments to train officers in disaster response.
“We intend to help the officers here scale up capacity so that they can quickly respond to emergencies. This is just the beginning," he said.
Lyde was accompanied by the executive director and co-founder of Tetra Investment Joshua Isaboke.
Isaboke said they are willing to continue collaborating with the Kisii county government to empower the disaster and fire rescue department with skills to effectively handle emergencies.
Edited by A.N