Elijeko Foundation, a non-profit health organisation, is on the move to initiate training for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) instructors.
Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) is a lifesaving hands-only technique that is useful in many emergencies such as a heart-attack, particularly where someone’s breathing or heartbeat has stopped. This hands-only CPR applies to both untrained bystanders and first responders.
This was revealed during a CPR training workshop held in Kumasi for some selected professionals who are members of the Kumasi Regional Chamber of Commerce and Industries in the Ashanti Region.
According to the Country Director of Elijeko Foundation, Celestina Kalor Abapiri, it has become necessary to train more people from different locations in Ghana to spread the skill of saving lives under Emergency circumstances, especially in issues relating to heart-attacks.
Elijeko Foundation plans to undertake this project in partnership with the US-based Global Mission Readiness, a non-profit organisation that provides emergency services education and resources to public safety agencies worldwide.
“Selected community volunteers will be trained on emergency medical services, basic water rescue training, rope rescue and vehicle extrication through partnership with organisations like Global Mission Readiness and fire departments in the United States and Canada,” Celestina Kalor Abapiri indicated.
She added: “When we recently launched the pre-hospital emergency training in Kumasi, it became necessary that we focus on ‘train the trainer’ programmes so that more people will be trained to provide bystander CPR education in their local communities to help others acquire this critical health and basic lifesaving skill.
“Currently, in Ghana there is a limited number of CPR Instructors; so Elijeko Foundation has taken it upon itself to train more people. We are going to train not necessarily only medical professionals, but also other persons with little or no knowledge at all about CPR matters.”
On his part, the Chief Executive Officer of Elijeko Foundation, Andrews Kwabena Nyantakyi, added that his organisation has worked with Global Mission Readiness in previous years to train NADMO volunteers and first responders in Afigya Kwabre district, Sekyere Afram Plains and the Bosomtwe constituency.
He added that Elijeko Foundation has opened discussions with Global Mission Readiness to help develop the ‘train the trainer’ concept, so that many can receive information needed to provide effective CPR intervention; and the foundation plans to send some selected individuals to the United States for future training.
Mr. Nyantakyi also disclosed that a UK-based bookseller called AwesomeBooks has pledged to support Elijeko Foundation’s efforts, to ensure that everyone in Ghana is equipped with the knowledge and skills needed to intervene in medical emergencies.
Commenting on the said partnership, Sannah Maan – who is the Head of Impact and Giving on behalf of AwesomeBooks, said her company has worked closely with Mr. Nyantakyi since 2011 in Ghana to donate books to schools in the Ashanti Region and is excited to support Elijeko Foundation’s initiative to make healthcare knowledge accessible to Ghanaians.
One of the beneficiaries of Elijeko Foundation’s CPR initiative, Kwaku Sarpong – Operations Manager at Prudential Bank, Adum branch in Kumasi, lauded the Foundation, saying he believes the CPR training will go a long way to help save lives.
He also encouraged and urged the organiser, Elijeko Foundation, for this laudable periodic workshop programme.
“This training is indeed an eye-opening programme to CPR because it is not common and also not something we teach in our various schools. It’s very important, because with that little knowledge you can at least save some lives,” Mr. Kwaku Sarpong emphasised.
“I would also like to encourage and appeal for Elijeko Foundation to provide this training to the public in partnership with the Ghana Red Cross Society and the Ghana media to create more awareness on CPR Training to save more lives,” he said.
