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MOSART Rescue Team Accepting Applicants

The all-volunteer Mountain Search and Rescue Team of the Philippines Inc. (Mosart Philippines) is now accepting applicants to its upcoming Basic Rescue and Rescue Course (BSAR '99).  An orientation seminar will be held at the Asian Institute of Management in Makati on Saturday, December 5 from 2 to 5 PM to discuss and explain the training program to would-be rescuers.

Interested applicants to the Mosart rescue course may call Rosas Gonzales at 723-31-65, Tanjo Selisana at 735-12-21/ 22, or send e-mail to mosart@skyinet.net or to energy@ph.shindler.com.

BSARC '99 will run for 14 weekends from January 9 to April 11, 1999. The subjects include principles of search and rescue, philosophy of safety, rescue knots, belaying, rappelling, ascending, anchoring, mechanical advantage systems, vertical evacuation, water rescue techniques, basics of survival, land navigation, search techniques and management, wilderness first aid, and psychological and stress problems in search and rescue.

The Mosart training system includes classroom lectures, practical exercises and mountain fieldwork.  The course will be highlighted by an on-the-job training stint on the 7,500-foot Mt. Banahaw during the Holy Week in April where thousands of pilgrims and tourists are expected to flock for their yearly religious trek.

Applications to the Mosart rescue must be at least 18 years old and physically fit.  Background in mountain backpacking is preferred but not necessary.

Mosart is a private, non-profit, volunteer organization dedicated to upgrading search and rescue capabilities in the Philippines and in propagating outdoor safety education.  It is the only Asian member of the prestigious US-based Mountain Rescue Association (www.mra.org), the international umbrella organization of professional search and rescue groups.

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