Support one First Aid Kit, for each school and villages of Sumba!

A first aid kit for them, in each school and village

Provide basic medical care to all children | With one first aid kit per school! A first aid kit for every school and village in the outermost and very rural areas of Sumba. Communities and children do not have access to medical care, even the most basic. Faced with this for years, the foundation decided to put in place a simple, tested and very effective measure: Teacher training, a first aid kit and long-term monitoring of people in charge.

Background

Sumba East has a population of 252,704 people, 129,389 men and 123,315 women spread over an area of 7,000 km2. The population density is therefore 36 people per km2 (source: BPS Eastern Sumba 2017). The hilly terrain of the island makes it beautiful but is also an obstacle in several sectors; first, it makes access to care very difficult. Add to this the lack of trained medical personnel and adequate medical facilities.

One of the villages we visited includes a “Puskesmas” (Public health centre) open twice a month to provide basic care; the 8th day of the month for children, the 16th day for adults.

During our visit to collect the primary data, we encountered many injured children, especially on the feet because they walk barefoot most of the time whether it is to play or to go to school. These injuries go untreated, causing infections that lead to more serious medical problems later.

Children are not the only ones affected, teenagers and adults are also affected. For example, a young man from a neighbouring village was injured in a motorcycle accident. He returned home with a swollen foot and open leg, his family could not do anything because they are not aware of first aid care such as cleaning or disinfecting wounds. So, we intervened and treated him to avoid infection.

Aim of this Medical Action?

As part of our actions in East Sumba, when the basic needs for access to basic health care are not met, we begin simple, effective actions. Learning to treat minor injuries not to become more serious injuries, raises the importance of awareness about first aid, before being taken to the hospital for professional doctors treatment.  When first aid kit can be accessed easily, ensure that the people around it are safe.

1. Transmit skills and knowledge to the 40 teachers who will receive the first aid kits
2. Highlight the importance of first aid before the patient is transferred to the hospital
3. Provide access to first aid for children, in schools and in their villages

How will we equip Schools and Villages?

We will equip schools and common areas with a comprehensive pharmacy kit to treat the everyday woes and injuries that children experience on their way to school.

These first-aid kits (which will actually be small medical cabinets) will consist of disinfecting, dressing, changing a wound, cleaning a wound, making a tourniquet, cutting torn nails, and providing basic follow-up for all these children, who hurt themselves and who do not heal.

The foundation will offer the necessary teaching to local school teachers, who are very happy to be able to help the children and all those and all who will need it.

We are “Kawan Baik Indonesia”, with the support of the “Fair Future Foundation”, partner of “Friends in Eastern Sumba” and we want to give access to first aid to the people of Sumba. Provide them with first aid equipment and improve their knowledge of the first actions to take when facing injuries.

Training – Monitoring

First, we will do a theoretical teaching module on the use of the kits. Then we will pass to a practical part in collaboration with the medical personnel of Sumba and other volunteers from different fields of activity. In addition, we will also teach them how to deal with accidents during school activities, food poisoning, electrocution or minor burns.

1. Before the training part, all the participant will pass a test to evaluate what they already know. After the training, they will pass another one to see the evolution of the capacities.
2. We will also list the kits and where they will be placed in order to collect the school’s data and the kit verification photos to follow up.
3. We will collect, as additional data, the number of the educator (proportion of women and men) who are involved in the project, their origin (which district, village). We will use the participation form which was completed before the training.
4. We will follow the evolution every 6 months by communicating with the teachers concerning changes in habits in the treatment of injuries and the availability of kits (what is missing, what is used etc…)

Thank you very much for your concrete help and your love, to offer a bright future to many people and their families, communities also!

You can find the project initiated by Kawan Baik Indonesia and supported by the Fair Future Foundation by clicking on the button below