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

Provide basic medical care to all children, with a first aid kit for each school/village in the most rural areas of Sumba

Communities and children do not have access to even the most basic medical care. Faced with this for years, the foundation decided to put in place a simple, proven and very effective measure: The training of school teachers, a first aid kit and long-term monitoring of managers from our centre in Sumba East.

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.

Context

East Sumba has a population of over 255,000 people, spread over an area of ​​7,000 km2. Therefore, the population density is 36 people per km2 (source: BPS East Sumba 2019). The hilly terrain of Sumba is an obstacle in several areas including access to healthcare. Add to this the lack of qualified medical personnel and the total absence of adequate medical facilities.

Some districts have a health centre, which can be opened twice a month to provide basic care; the 8th day of the month for children, the 16th for adults and that’s it. And this when the schedules are respected and the staff present…

Note that the majority of health centres do not have access to water..

During our field missions, we meet many children, adolescents or adults injured, especially in the feet which are bare most of the time. Children have to travel many kilometres to get to school, on rocky and dangerous paths, to cross rivers too; they are therefore the most affected by these injuries.

These are not treated. They do not have access to the most basic medical care and therefore, those of first necessity such as disinfecting or bandaging a wound are completely non-existent. As a result, these wounds become infected, people get sick and can die. This is of course linked to the lack of hygiene, the lack of access to water and the lack of knowledge and medical resources.

Of course, children are not the only ones concerned; adolescents and adults are also affected. For example, a young man from a nearby village was injured in a motorcycle accident. He returned home with a swollen foot and an open leg. There was nothing her family could do because they had no basic knowledge of first aid, such as cleaning or disinfecting wounds. So we stepped in and treated him to avoid infection before it got worse.

From the data we have, Fair Future and Kawan Baik Indonesia, together with several partners in Sumba, have created a first aid program that aims to provide access to basic medical care. Provide first aid materials and share knowledge about the first actions to take when faced with injuries, through local teachers and the community itself.

Project summary

Provide basic medical care to the populations of rural communities. Teacher training, one first aid kit per school and per village in Sumba. Publication of a brochure in three languages ​​(Sumbanese, Indonesian and English).

Faced with the lack of access and training in basic medical care, the foundation decided to implement simple, tested, effective measures; train teachers, in collaboration with the official services, in the use of a first aid kit. These kits are made available to schools and, indirectly, to villages in these rural regions.

The foundation ensures, thanks to its base camp in Sumba, the follow-up, the resupply and the training of the young local volunteers acting as agents of change in these communities.

The most important part of this program is the skills training; the implementation of teaching modules and then the practical part in collaboration with the medical staff of Sumba and other volunteers from different fields of activity. For long-term monitoring, the kits will be listed and monitoring will be carried out regularly.

The experience of our teams of several years in this region of Indonesia means that they are fully aware of the needs and the measures to be put in place. Added to this our experience of more than 10 years in the field of medical care in Indonesia as well as the medical training in Switzerland of our President-Founder, Alexandre Wettstein who is a major asset in this project.

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…)

The project’s objectives

As part of our actions in East Sumba, when basic needs for access to basic health care are not met, we start with simple and effective actions.

1. Learn how to treat minor injuries so as not to become more serious injuries, first aid awareness. When first aid is easily accessible, we ensure the safety of populations.
2. Transmit skills and knowledge to the 40 teachers who will receive the first aid kits;
3. Emphasize the importance of first aid before the patient is transferred to the hospital;
4. Provide access to first aid for children, in schools and in their villages.

Who are the beneficiaries

The beneficiaries of the project are the communities of people living in the rural and peripheral regions of the territories of eastern Indonesia (NTT – Nusa Tenggara Timur).

These rural communities include the following population groups:

1. Children of school age, 8 to 15 years old. Children from poor social backgrounds, who do not have access to basic medical care, water or electricity;
2. Teachers from rural schools, themselves from the same villages in which they teach;
3. The villagers and local communities living in rural areas who will themselves benefit from this project and therefore their relatives;
4. The health centres in the Sumba region, with whom we are collaborating for this project and for whom it has a very favourable impact, it is a project to which they all support;
5. Adolescents from the Sumba region, with whom we are developing this project, who will carry a message to rural communities;
6. The health affairs department with whom we are collaborating on this project.

In total, a population of nearly 180,000 people who will be potential users of this innovative program aimed at providing access to medical care.

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