“Afya Kids” First Aid Training, Maruri Slum, Nairobi Kenya

Emergency care is not going to happen in poor neighborhoods in Africa. It is a rare luxury even in the most developed areas in larger cities. Providing training in some basic emergency care techniques has saved lives because early recognition and action are key. Our mission at Medic Outpost has always been to train and equip first responders in remote areas. At first you may wonder why we are working so hard in the Slums of Nairobi because that does not seem like a remote area. Well, I can promise you some of these poor neighborhoods are farther from healthcare than in many rural areas. No resources, understanding, or options put people at risk. The Medic Outpost “Afya Kids” project is working with the upper grades in primary schools in the slums to teach basic first aid skills. We teach treatment for choking, hemorrhage control and wound care, treatment for nose bleeds, and fractures. We are not developing paramedics in a few hours in a school yard but we have passed on some valuable knowledge. It is a start.

In addition to that, we are teaching the school staff the same program but adding more advanced topics into their training. Medic Outpost is providing a comprehensive first aid kid to each school we work in and training for the use of the contents of the kit. Teachers learn how to administer basic medications, how to identify children that need to be evaluated, how to mange wounds and injuries. Many times, this treatment from the school will be the only medical care a child will receive after being injured.

Our goal is to use new and exciting ways to deliver the training. The Medic Outpost choking aliens are a big hit. Along with their little sisters the infant aliens. We even have a “first aid dance off” for the students. Even small steps will eventually get you to another place.