The beneficiaries were drawn from various sectors including Boda Boda riders, traders, humanitarian workers, community and youth leaders among others.
Kaluma took the trainees through all the steps that are taken throughout the exercise of saving a life.
Francis Kalama, a trainer from the Kenya Red Cross speaks to the press.
Many lives are usually lost during disasters because
individuals lack the skills to provide timely and effective first aid, Francis
Kalama, a trainer from the Kenya Red Cross on Thursday said.
Kalama said that it was important that as many
community members are equipped with the first aid skills since they will come
in handy during times of disaster.He spoke at the Kenya Red Cross offices on the
sidelines of a one-day training of 60 community members from Garissa who
received First Aid training from the organisation.The beneficiaries were drawn from various sectors
including Boda Boda riders, traders, humanitarian workers, community and youth leaders among others.Kaluma took the trainees through all the steps
that are taken throughout the exercise of saving a life.
He said that in a region
like North Eastern where emergencies like floods, road accidents and inter-clan
clashes turn bloody,having many
people with such skills will be of great help to the community.“It is for this reason that the Kenya Red Cross has
been continuously actively working to address this issue by training
community members in Garissa and other areas on life-saving first aid skills,” he
said.
Staff and volunteers from the Kenya Red Cross participate in a simulation exercise of an accident at the Garissa Primary School playground.
He added: “You realiSe that regrettably the casualties
are ignorantly mishandled by individuals who lack these very important
life-saving skills. What follows is that we end up losing lives that would
have ordinarily been saved even before they arrive in hospital,” Kaluma
said.Antony Mwangi, a Boda boda rider who was
among those who received the first aid skills lauded the organisation for the
initiative saying that for a long time, he was not aware of how to handle an
emergency situation that required his assistance but was now well equipped.“While going about my bodaboda business I have come
across many accidents of my colleagues being hit by motorists and left for
dead. But with these skills I can assure you that if I come across an accident
I will be among the first people to try and save a life with the skills that I
have just acquired,” he said.Ummulkheir Ahmed, a humanitarian aid worker said the
training was very necessary since it will help to save lives during
emergencies.“We have learned how to respond and help casualties
during accident and occurrence of flood and other disaster,” she said.
Lucia Sila, a trader in Garissa equally appreciated
the first-aid skills that she learned during the training.
“I didn't know that as a first aider, I have to check a
person's breathing as I look for chest movement, listen for breath sounds, and do
the necessary help before calling for an emergency. These are things I didn't know,”
she said.
She urged the Kenya Red Cross to train more people to
help in life-saving during emergencies.
Daud Ahmed the Garissa branch Kenya Red Cross
coordinator said that the first aiders
were selected from various members of
different sectors within Garissa town.
He stated the Kenya Red Cross organisation was undertaking a one week community
engagement activities in Garissa including Iftar for orphanage centers,
Ramadhan football matches and
motivational speaking to students to mark 60 years of service to humanity.
“Disasters such as fire outbreaks, floods and road
accidents are a common occurrence and when they occur we must have first aiders
who will attend to these victims. The more we have in the community the better
in terms of saving lives,” he said.
