Juharabad youth are ready for emergencies

The New Hope team in Juharabad held a first aid training event for young people in their community this week. Representatives from the government’s 1122 Rescue team gave the training. There were around 35 participants at the event.

This is an unusual opportunity for young people in this community and will provide a valuable skill that could save lives in the neighbourhoods where they live and will also be valued by potential employers. A member of the Juharabad community, who is part of the 1122 Rescue team, worked with the New Hope team and Amplifying Voices Pakistan to make the opportunity possible.

The neighbourhood has been neglected by authorities. Streets are dirty and there are no healthcare facilities nearby. There are a lot of stray dogs, and also risk of snakebites. People who are struggling to cope face further risk from mis-using drugs or home-made alcohol. If there is a medical emergency, then people need to know how to respond both effectively and hygienically

You probably didn’t cover snakebites if you did first aid training in a UK workplace or village hall!

The New Hope team covered the event for their weekly WhatsApp podcasts with interviews and reports, including videos of participants doing first aid exercises. But first aid is only part of the solution. The media programmes are also raising awareness of how to prevent injury in the first place, including highlighting the risk of poisoning from unregulated home-made alcohol. Community-centred media gets people talking and working together for a cleaner neighbourhood to reduce risk of infections if people do get injured, and advocates to those in authority for locally accessible healthcare facilities.

New Hope team interview first aid trainer

This is another example of on-air off-air collaboration, in which media teams work alongside non-media activities to increase the impact of service providers, and celebrate the positive community stories.