PASAY CITY, Sept. 15 – The Philippine Red Cross (PRC) with the support from the American Red Cross (AmCross) and SM Mall of Asia, conducted a free lecture on first aid and basic life support in celebration of the World First Aid Day at the South Pavilion, SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City.
World First Aid Day was organized in year 2000 by the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC), aimed at raising global awareness on the importance of basic first aid skills which can save lives in emergency situations.
With this year’s theme, “First Aid for Domestic Accidents,” the PRC demonstrated a lecture on First Aid and Basic Life Support-Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (BLS-CPR) to increase awareness of the possible dangers in a domestic environment, to prepare every member of the family for unexpected incidents, and to teach them basic first aid measures in case of emergency situations.
The Safety Services, one of the service arms of the PRC that secures the health and safety of Filipino communities, set up stations to impart skills on Bandaging and Bleeding Control, Lifting and Transfer, BLS -Adult and Child CPR, and BLS-Infant CPR. More than 400 information education campaign (IEC) materials were also distributed to promote safety tips and precautionary measures in dealing with emergency situations.
More than 200 participants from all ages, especially kids hanging around with their parents at the mall, joined the activity and learned how to administer basic first aid. Even employees from the SM Mall of Asia had the opportunity to acquire common life-saving lessons.
In addition, the event also showcased the importance of Child Restraint System, which is one of the safety campaigns of the PRC. Child restraint system is commonly known as “child car seat,” designed for children to diminish the risk of injury during collision or car crashes.
During the event, children were able to experience and be buckled up on car seats for a simple demonstration on how the car seat works..
Meanwhile, different PRC Chapters all over the country also held simultaneous activities on conducting free lecture demonstrations on first aid and BLS-CPR.
The organization also introduced a more convenient way to learn basic first aid through the mobile application called First Aid PH. This application offers instant access to information about first aid and instructional videos on handling common emergency situations, even when they are offline.
First Aid PH can be downloaded for free on the App Store for Apple users (https://goo.gl/Im3uwF) and Google Play Store for Android users (https://goo.gl/gA11kf).
To know more about Safety Services’ programs and trainings, you may visit the PRC website at www.redcross.org.ph or like its Facebook page at @phredcross. (PRC/PIA)
