A total of 22 female Labasa market vendors were inducted as first aiders after they participated in First Aid training this week.

The group, which is made up mostly of mothers and grandmothers, were grateful for the knowledge they had gained.

“This training will surely help us attend to emergency cases better as market vendors, mothers and members of the community,” 37-year-old Penina Vakayauta said.

“I have come to understand that some of our traditional ways in attending to emergencies are not very safe.

“For instance if someone chokes on food or an object, we tend to quickly hit their back.

“But there is a proper way for this.

“One should hit the upper middle back and with just enough force and not too much.

“And there is so much more that we learned which is bound to make us better first aiders in the community.”

Another participant, Mereia Tabuvale, 37, shared similar sentiments, and said that this was a much needed training course for them.

“Accidents happen anywhere and with the knowledge that we are being equipped with makes us better prepared to attend to these emergencies,” Ms Tabuwale said.

“Even when we’re travelling in a bus, in the market, anything can happen and I would like to thank the facilitators for taking their time out to teach us this valuable knowledge.”

The training was facilitated by the Fiji Red Cross Society in partnership with the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. It concluded on Tuesday.

Edited by Jonathan Bryce

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