The Kenya Red Cross Society has teamed up with the Nyeri Press Club to train journalists on basic first aid skills.
During the one-day session, which was held at the society’s headquarters in Ruring’u, the scribes drawn from different media houses in the county were taken through practical drills on how to respond to common emergencies such as burns, fainting, and choking.
According to the Kenya Red Cross’s Trainer, George Wachania, the session was aimed at equipping journalists with basic skills on how to handle emergencies. The trainer noted that a lot of lives continue to be lost in the country due to lack of these lifesaving skills and called on Kenyans to sign up for training.
“If everyone knew how to administer first aid, we could prevent many deaths, and that is why we are calling on more Kenyans to be equipped with these skills to help save these lives,” noted Wachania.
On his part, the Nyeri Press Club Chairman, Seth Mwaniki, urged journalists to take up First Aid courses, terming the training as essential.
Mwaniki also urged media houses to also support journalists by organising similar trainings to help scribes offer assistance during emergency situations.
The training comes a few months after a group of Nyeri-based journalists found themselves at the scene of a deadly road accident on the Nyeri-Nyahururu highway as first responders. Even though the scribes managed to rescue the victims from the wreckage of the 14-seater matatu, the scribes later on called on emergency response organisations to train them on First Aid. The accident claimed seven lives and left 14 seriously injured.
“Due to the nature of our work, we often find ourselves in accident scenes or tragic scenes as first responders. Such situations demand that we offer help in addition to disseminating the news, so it is essential for us to undergo such training,” said Mwaniki.
By Wangari Mwangi and Njoki Nderitu
