UPDATE - July 2006

In June the pilot Caribbean First Aid Project held its second project meeting in Belize.  The three participating National Societies, Grenada, Trinidad and Tobago and Belize attended as did British Red Cross who funds the project.

The meeting focused on developing:

1. A ‘lessons learned’ document to share with other NS thinking about starting a similar project
2. A plan of action for producing a Caribbean First Aid Manual
3. A trainer resource pack for first aid instructors
4. A monitoring and evaluation pack to help understand the impact of first aid on communities

In addition the meeting focused on sharing experiences and learning between the three National Societies.  There were presentations on the ‘psychology of sales’ and how to sell first aid training as a commercial product, community first aid and different approaches which can be used and team motivation and management. 

Please see the links to access some of the documents from the project meeting.  The trainer resource pack will be available in the next few weeks and can be sent to you in the form of a CD.

Background

As recent tragic events such as the Tsunami and the recent earthquake in South Asia will demonstrate, there are more natural disasters occurring than ever before. According to the Red Cross’ World Disasters Report in 2004, the number of disasters from floods to earthquakes – has almost doubled since the 1990s to over 700 a year.

The Caribbean region is one of the most disaster-prone in the world. During August and September 2004, North America and the Caribbean were struck by hurricanes Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne, which ripped through the area leaving 2,500 people dead and over 300,000 homeless. Since then, 2005 has proven to be one of the busiest and most destructive hurricane seasons on record.

Whilst there is often an emphasis within the Red Cross and Red Crescent movement on responding to disasters, particularly by providing essential relief such as food, water and shelter, taking action before a disaster strikes has become an increasingly important part of our work.

Each and every disaster shows us that before any assistance reaches the affected areas from outside, it is the local population who responds first to the crisis. Increasing the capacity of vulnerable communities to cope with disasters can play a major role in saving lives when disaster strikes.

About the Caribbean Community First Aid project

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies estimates that tens of millions of lives are saved each year by first aid techniques applied by neighbours or bystanders to victims of accidents of disasters.

The aim of this project is to strengthen the resilience of poor communities living in vulnerable areas in Grenada, Trinidad and Tobago and Belize to both natural disasters and domestic accidents through the provision of first aid education.

Belize is subject to frequent, devastating hurricanes (June to November) and coastal flooding. Grenada lies on the edge of the hurricane belt and whilst Trinidad and Tobago lie outside the usual path of hurricanes and other tropical storms, the islands are subject to earthquakes, landslides, floods and storm winds.

Moreover, significant numbers of the population in all three countries live in makeshift houses in locations, which are not only prone to natural disaster, but also subject to high unemployment, crime, poverty and overcrowding.

The beneficiaries of the training will include school students, parents and teachers and community leaders as well as participants of other community groups such as the Scouts. It is anticipated that up to 15,000 people will be trained in total across the three countries.

First aid is recognised as a major asset in disaster management. Knowledge of first aid at the scene of an emergency can minimise the impact of a situation until the condition of those affected can be stabilised or professional help becomes available.

“The teaching of first aid will give those trained the ability to attend to basic injuries which otherwise would have to be referred to already overcrowded health centres and casualty departments.”
Lisa Lalsingh
Director General – Trinidad and Tobago Red Cross

First Aid Harmonization

Over the year the project will produce a Caribbean First Aid manual to harmonise first aid training and learning across the region.  The project hopes to produce accompanying training materials for first aid trainers in the form of modules that cover a wide range of topics such as wilderness first aid, water safety and sports first aid.  This will enable each national society to choose the modules most relevant to their country and situation. 

The focus of first aid harmonization will be on making sure those learning first aid receive the same quality training wherever they complete it.  As there are already a range of methodologies and materials being used in the Caribbean it makes sense to take the very best of these and give them a Caribbean ‘flavour’. 

It is anticipated that the harmonization will also provide a more ‘saleable’ commercial first aid product that is distinct to the Caribbean but that meets international standards.