The value of ‘Unity’ was explored during a half-day workshop for officers of the Seychelles Fire and Rescue Services Agency organised by the Seychelles National Youth Council.

The workshop was held yesterday at the headquarters of the agency located on Latanier Road, Victoria

Each month Seychelles National Youth Council (SNYC) launches a value in the context of its ‘Values for one, Values for all’ programme, and the value chosen for the month of June is ‘Unity’.

The workshop for the fire officers and lifeguards was to increase their knowledge of the value and bring them to realise its importance especially as they face dangerous situations on a daily basis. It is therefore vital that the officers are united for their own personal safety and that of the public.

The Seychelles Fire and Rescue Services Agency (SFRSA) public relations officer Jones Madeleine said it is important to go back to our values and educate our children on their importance.

“Values are a person’s or society’s beliefs about good behaviour and what things are important. These values help build our common culture and guide us in all our decisions. Established forms of cooperation between managers, employees, management organs, owners and the authorities will reflect our basic values,” he said.

The workshop coordinator, Beryl Dodin, who is a counsellor at the SNYC, noted that our values are important because they help us to grow and develop and to create the future we want to experience.

She added that each decision we make reflects on our values, and that we use our values to make important decisions.

“Every individual and every organisation is involved in making hundreds of decisions every day. The decisions we make are a reflection of our values and beliefs, and they are always directed towards a specific purpose. That purpose is the satisfaction of our individual or collective needs. When we use our values to make decisions, we make a deliberate choice to focus on what is important to us. When values are shared, they build internal cohesion in a group,” she said.

She also noted that such a workshop has already been done with the police and military officers.

Yesterday’s workshop also featured an uplifting testimony from Rose-Mary Elizabeth, who lost everything in a fire last May at Curio Road. She thanked the SFRSA officers for doing a wonderful job as a sign of gratitude to motivate them to give more in their daily tasks.