Children can save lives: Elastoplast equips youth with vital first aid skills

For so long, first aid training has been focused on adults so that grown-ups are able to administer care in an emergency. However, young people are often first responders in a crisis, especially in communities where small children are vulnerable or without adequate adult supervision.

“More lives could be saved, health challenges avoided and trauma contained if those first on the scene were trained in administering wound care and basic first aid,” says Nokuthula Khumalo, brand manager for Elastoplast. “This is why the SA Red Cross Society Western Cape's First Aid Schools Project is such a fantastic initiative” — and why SA's number one plaster brand has committed to supporting it.

Started in 2022, the First Aid Schools Project provides basic first aid training in primary schools and youth-based organisations within the Western Cape.

Through this initiative, thousands of children have been taught life-saving first aid skills and, with the generous contribution of Elastoplast, its reach can be expanded and the training sessions it offers enhanced, says Marianna Nomdoe, Health and Care manager at the SA Red Cross Society Western Cape.

The Red Cross team will be going into 30 schools in 2024, offering first aid for children aged 10 to 13, says Nomdoe. “With five separate sessions over five days, the training is thorough and comprehensive.”

To ensure personal attention, each training session caters for 15 children. The course covers theory and practical exams, with a certificate awarded at the end.

“Young learners acquire skills such as CPR, wound care, water hygiene and sanitation — the skills needed to act effectively as first responders to their peers,” says Nomdoe.

First aid training teaches invaluable life skills, while also building confidence, enhancing communication skills and encouraging children to work well in a team environment; this makes it beneficial in so many ways, she says.

Khumalo says: “This vital education means more self-advocacy for children and young people, in turn helping those immediately in need within their communities.”

Elastoplast believes everyone should learn essential first aid skills. Visit the brand's website to find which essentials should be in your first aid kit, expert advice on wound care and treatment, and more.

This article was sponsored by Elastoplast.