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	A COISA CERTA (The Right Thing) The beginnings of CERT in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Paul Cull, Iris Ministries Paul Cull is a New Zealander who has been working for the last seven years in the hillside community of Cordoeira, Nova Friburgo, in the interior of the state of Rio de Janeiro. During this time he was involved with a number of social projects with local youth, including free computer-skills courses through an association known as "The House of Hope".
More recently, Paul has been leading the local branch of Iris Ministries, an international Christian agency which is based in Maputo, Mozambique. Currently, Iris Ministries, in conjunction with the "Comunhão na Colheita" church, is offering English language courses, music lessons, computer lessons and other outreach activities to the community of Cordoeira.
Iris Ministries, with the cooperation of the City Council Fire Brigade which is under the command of Lt Col Josué Macedo, is now forming Brazil's first CERT team; composed of youth from the suburb of Cordoeira. The formation of this team has a two-fold purpose: to prepare local youth to be able to respond in the event of a disaster (such as mudslides which are a common occurrence in south-eastern Brazil), but also as a means of outreach to the local youth, teaching them valuable lifeskills and offering a safe yet adventurous alternative to involvement in organized crime and drug gangs.
	As Iris Ministries is a strictly not-for-profit agency, funding for the team comes solely from private donations and is therefore rather limited. The team has been given some hard hats and reflective bands, and has been able to purchase some more helmets, along with belt bags, rain coats, flashlights, basic first-aid supplies, and some stiff-neck collars. A private donation has also enabled the purchase of four Motorola hand-held walkie-talkie radios.
The latest addition to the team has been the arrival of 'Bob' - a home-made foam-filled mannequin who has proved extremely useful for training activities (the kids christened him 'Bob' in tribute to the 'Sponge Bob' cartoon character). The next team project will hopefully be the construction of several longboard rescue stretchers.
	Team training has so far concentrated on basic first aid skills (with the assistance of the local volunteer EMS squad known as GSAT), search and rescue and causality handling skills, including triage and on-scene size up. Paul was involved in Civil Defense and Red Cross Light Rescue teams in New Zealand and has been using that training material as the basis for team preparation. Translation of the CERT manuals into Portuguese is underway at the moment and the team is planning to begin the 'official' 17 1/2 hour course shortly.
The team has attracted considerable interest from local teenagers, who are enthusiastically involved in training activities. Team training sessions are constructed around practical and 'hands on' activities, and usually involve a simulated exercise following the presentation of a new concept or technique.
The CERT program could be extremely valuable in Brazil, especially in the high-risk areas known as favelas which often suffer from flooding and landslides during the rainy season. With the support of the Nova Friburgo City Council Fire Brigade, it is hoped that the CERT concept and training materials will be made available for use within Brazil.
Further information about Iris Ministries' CERT program in Brazil will be made available at the website http://cert.paulcull.org



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