FIRST AID & CPR TRAINING

First Aid remains at the heart of Red Cross and Red Crescent activities. Today the movement is expanding and upgrading first-Aid training and services to better respond to the humanitarian challenges of the 21st century. The Red Cross emblem symbolizes the core service with which the organization is closely associated: First Aid, the fundamental activity in which the Red Cross engages and through which the movement’s Fundamental Principles are brought to life.

First Aid also continues to be one of very few income generation programs for the National Society and all efforts are made to strengthen and expand the program countrywide through branches and the 36 certified volunteer First Aid Instructors countrywide.

Over the last two years, Belize Red Cross was given the privilege of training approximately 2,000 persons, men, women and children; this includes some 1,300 of NEMO personnel countrywide. Successful participants were certified in First Aid and CPR. This served to further emphasize and strengthen Belize Red Cross in their auxiliary capacity to the Government. Additionally, Community First Aid is provided through its incorporation into Disaster Risk Reduction and Home Care Givers programs.

The National Society strives to promote the importance of learning First Aid and potentially saving lives. The basic First Aid training targets the individual on the street, company or organization and covers various topics, with skills training given the most importance, since First Aid is mostly hands on. At the end of the training participants have the necessary skills required to render aid to a suddenly sick or injured person before professional help arrives. Refreshers are carried out yearly and in some cases it is a requirement to be certified to hold a license for the job, e.g., tour guides.

First Aid is also provided in several different smaller modules in schools and for teachers and other professionals who may not be able to access the training for an entire 8 hours, which is the required length of Basic First Aid. Several schools are now becoming health and safety conscious and are requesting the training.

On special occasions, such as World First Aid Day in September, the BRC First Aid Team reaches out to the general public promoting the need for every man, woman and child to learn the techniques of basic First Aid and CPR, as the life they save may just be that of their loved one.

In 2012, to celebrate World First Aid Day, the team appeared on different media houses and the National First Aid Instructor, Mrs. Winnie Parchue and other volunteer instructors visited the nursing homes in Belize City and in Hattieville and taught them a few crucial skills in basic First Aid. Caregivers and volunteers of the Institutions also received the tips.