At the beginning of October, NSRI stations around the country welcomed members of the public to their Open Day. People were able to ask questions, meet the crew, and find out more about the work the organisation does.
“The NSRI is manned by more than 1 400 unpaid volunteers at over 50 rescue bases, including satellite or auxiliary stations and inland dams,” says Kuhle Mkize, NSRI’s Communications and PR Manager. “The Open Days gave members of the public the chance to learn more about what we do.”
Activities varied from station to station, but generally included things like tours of the base; talks about the NSRI, the history of the NSRI, or the history of that particular base; demonstrations of the rescue equipment and how to perform bystander CPR; talks about the boats on station; and some lucky visitors went out on the vessels with the crew.
These base open days are an invaluable way to educate members of the public about what the NSRI does. It also gives anyone wishing to join the chance to find out more about what volunteering entails. Although not the focus of the days, members of the public were also able to donate towards their local station or the NSRI if they so wished.
“Overall, the feedback from all the stations was that it was an awesome day. Being able to interact with the community and showcase what the stations do was amazing. The last open days were held when the NSRI turned 50 in 2017. So it was a good time to remind everyone what we do!” Kuhle says with a smile.
“From an organisation point of view, it was a fantastic opportunity to open our doors to the public, and it will be something we’ll do every year going forward,” Kuhle says.
Take a look at some Open Day photos from our bases around the country:
Base showcase: Station 19 (Richards Bay)
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