In a first, St. John Ambulance, an organisation known for its training in first aid and rescue, will launch projects for special children and tribal groups. It will train parents and caregivers of 1,000 children in tackling emergencies at home.
“Doctors trained in first aid and our volunteers will teach them to care for the child. It is often difficult to care for special children. We will teach the parents and caregivers to provide an uncluttered living space for the child and what they should do if the child causes self-injury with a stone or some sharp instrument,” said D. Vadivel Mugundhan, chairman of St. John.
The organisation has already run a trial project and will formally launch the programme on September 5.
As part of the project, it has also facilitated industries to adopt children whose parents are financially unsound.
The children adopted by the companies through their social responsibility effort will be in the care of a few persons identified by the companies themselves.
Programme for tribal regions
St. John has also planned a project for tribal regions following the success of a training programme in rescue and transport of the injured, organised in Ayyanar Hills near Rajapalayam.
In hilly, remote areas, where accidents including falls from trees are common, often help is not available immediately. The injured are carried in a cloth sling, compromising their recovery after treatment.
“In the area, we found nine people with spinal cord injuries who were bedridden for life. The tribal people had transported them in a thuli (cloth sling). The injured were transported to a hospital but the damage to the spine was caused because of the way they were transported. We have taught them to always use portable stretchers and administer first aid. This would prevent the injury from worsening,” Dr. Vadivel said.
He added that every house should have one person who is trained in administering first aid. “The aim is to have one trained hand in every household. Only this will prevent deaths,” he said.
The project aims at reaching out to the tribal population in 25 hills across the State.
At present, St. John is running programmes in 100 villages where three persons are chosen from each village across the 32 districts and trained in handling natural calamities and disasters.
'The trained persons will be provided with emergency kits, and they will in turn be monitored by St. John volunteers. By the end of 2013, we will have 3,000 trained persons in each district,” Dr. Vadivel said.
