Gambia Red Cross, UN Volunteers support 11 families with First Aid boxes

The support is geared towards equipping the knowledge of the affected households to be able to treat minor injuries and prevent worsening situations.

Millions of people are hurt or killed by injuries every year due to inadequate response or lack of timely assistance.

Ebrima Ceesay, Branch Officer for Banjul Red Cross said GRCS prioritises first aid assistance as one of the fundamental pillars for building safer and more resilient communities.

He added that, it is therefore important that people are trained on first aid to provide effective and swift action that helps reduce the severity of injuries and improve the chance of survival.

Ndieunde Gueye, UN Volunteers Country Coordinator for Senegal/Gambia said they decided to support the families with the first aid boxes because the July flood affected many households and most of them left their homes without certain basic needs.

She thanked The Gambia Red Cross Society for their steadfastness and commitment towards flood victims since the flood.

Stephanie Janneh, UN Volunteers partnership and mobilisation officer said they believe that it is us that impact our communities which is why they brought the assistance.

Isatou Joof, Deputy Disaster Management Coordination for The Gambia Red Cross Society described the intervention as very good, saying thatwas because most of the support they have received from humanitarian institutions and individuals to distribute to families were mostly related to food and household items. She reassured communities of their continuous support in the humanitarian field.

Isatou Bah, Gender Focal Point for The Gambia Red Cross Society said the GRCS always captures gender, protection and inclusion in whatever they do in their operations and response.

She added that women are the highest percentage in affected families. He pointed out that, women are the backbone of families and first respondents in homes in cases of emergencies.

She highlighted that, GRCS aims to have at least one first aider in every household, noting that having women trained on first aid as well as having first aid kits in homes will help them achieve their target. “We expect beneficiaries to utilise the first aid kits,” she concluded.