Press Release – OVER 2000 members of staff at schools in four education districts have now been trained in first aid and CPR, the Ministry of Education has disclosed.
Those who received the training include principals, teachers, caretakers, watchmen, janitors and cooks.
School Safety Officer, Bernez Khodra, told St Lucia Times that one of the objectives of the School Safety programme is to train all school personnel in basic first aid and CPR.
He revealed that the project started in October of 2017 and continued throughout the academic year.
Khodra said certificates are given to participants upon successfully completing the first aid training, which is provided free of cost by the St John Ambulance Brigade.
The organisation has trained a number of teachers as certified first aid instructors and they in turn have been training others.
“We recognise that at the schools in particular, we have students who are differently abled, we have students who are actually suffering from many illnesses,” the Safety Officer explained.
“The objective was to impart the participants with the necessary skills and knowledge so that in the event that there is an emergency, whether it be on the school premises, at home or in the community, they would be able to respond effectively and efficiently in helping to save someone’s life.”
“The programme is being run on a zero budget,” Khodra told St Lucia Times.
“We are dependent on volunteerism,” he declared, while explaining that some of the districts in which the programme has been run have provided lunch for the participants.
He stated that in the next two years the Ministry of Education hopes to be conducting refresher courses.
“We are also offering this programme at the Teachers College, so that all new teachers will be trained in basic first aid/CPR and by the time they get into the school system, they would already be certified,” Khodra said.