In February this year, we met a remarkable pair of young men, who impressed us with their dedication to saving lives. Even though still students, both are quite advanced in their craft, being senior lecturers at ZDrSEM, one of the longest serving organization in the field of first aid teaching in the Czech Republic. These talented young men, Štěpán Mikula and Ondřej Beníšek, offered to share their first-aid experience and knowledge with C4C´s constituency: children living in children´s homes!
They ended up visiting three facilities – the children homes in Ledce, Unhošť and Dolní Počernice.
“When the children learned that the course would last three hours, they were initially horrified,” laughs Petra Erguvanli, coordinator of C4C´s Springboard to Life programme. “But then they ended up not wanting to let the guys leave at all and begged them to come and see them again soon.”
And what was it that kept their attention for three hours – what did they learn?
“The children learned how to behave in life-threatening situations such as unconsciousness, the need for resuscitation, or stopping massive bleeding,” says Štěpán Mikula, one of the two teachers. “They were also interested in how to react in situations where someone is in acute danger due to alcohol or drug consumption.”
As a result, the children were awarded a certificate of completion for applying first-aid in life-threatening conditions.
“The children were enthusiastic, it was a great advantage that both lecturers are young and can empathise with children’s souls,” remarked the staff from the children’s home in Ledce. “They liked the heart massage the most.”
“The lecturers were great guys, you could talk to them about everything,” one of the participants from the children’s home in Unhošt,” 16-year-old Maruška, told us appreciatively. “We showed them the whole children´s home afterwards and they stayed on with us for a while to chat,” she laughs.
Authors: Zuzana Šrámková, Petra Erguvanli
