Sierra Leone Life Saving, Change Up Sport Empowers Over 50 Participants On Basic Lifesaving Skills

By Ishmael Sallieu Koroma

The Sierra Leone Life Saving Society (SLLSS) in collaboration with Change Up Sports based in Philadelphia, United States of America has organised a one day national basic lifesaving skills awareness program for over fifty (50) participants at the Freetown City Council Conference Hall in Freetown.

The one day awareness program was to teach participants drawn from the sporting discipline which includes coaches, players, and referees, on cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) the skills, and practical sessions.

Co-Founder and Board President of Change Up Sports Kelly O’Connor said it is important for anyone that works with young people or even adult to understand basic lifesaving skill whenever someone is in need of it especially when they lose consciousness by providing a first aid before going to the hospital through a CPR.

‘’We think this training is really important for any one that works for young people and really any one to be able to help someone they that is in need. To make sure anyone who is a coach,  or even the players they are able to help their fellow player or young person that they see has an injury or if they lose consciousness they wanted to make sure they are able to step in before going to the hospitals,’’ she said.

‘’ The training was excellent; and I think everyone now has a good basis now on basic lifesaving skills. If they see someone that needed that type of intervention, they will be able to step in and also able to help spread the word to others. I think been able to have a training with these many people nearly 60 people is a great opportunity to spread the word.,‘’ Kelly O’Connor noted , adding that with these lifesaving skills participants will able to save someone’s life when basic lifesaving skills is needed.

Kelly O’Connor added that, they as an organisation will continue to collaborate with the Life Saving Society as she believed many people wanted to learn these lifesaving skills but do not have the opportunity especially where they can get such training stressing such collaboration creates this opportunity.

Chairman of the Sierra Leone Life Saving Society, Patrick Olumide Campbell said that the one day awareness lifesaving program was geared towards to teach participants to get the basic skills on how to resuscitate during an emergency occurrence adding that an application on Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) saves life.

‘’ That is why the theme for the one day is Sabi for do am – when you know how to do it then , you will be a major player in saving lives . I want to see them doing the right things, spread the message, teaching others and making it a productivity training wherein they always have ways their skills and sending the message to others,’’ he said.

Patrick Olumide Campbell however, noted that they plan to do more training on CPR across the country but said they were constrained with resources to do many more trainings thus asking for support from the government, Non-governmental organizations among others to help bolster and drive their work in Sierra Leone.

‘’We at Sierra Leone Life Saving Society are open to collaboration like this one we have had with Change Up Sports USA. We hope to see more of this. We needed support from every sector, the government, non-governmental organisations and international organisations to fund us to do more as part of our mandate is to save lives. Saving lives is very important,’’ Chairman of the Sierra Leone Life Saving Society noted.

Francis Trevor Samura of the Sierra Leone Cricket Association (SLCAA), on his part said that the one- day awareness raising programme was very important and by extension to them as a discipline and to other disciplines, adding that they as an association appreciated the organisers as through the training their athletes have been able to learn a lot whilst thanking Change UP sports and other partners for their support towards the cricket discipline in the country.

‘’ Let me on behalf of the Sierra Leone Cricket association expressed our thanks and appreciation to Sierra Leone Life Saving Society and Change Up Sports for this training. We have had situations where our athletes fell during matches and there was actually no first aider to attend to these athletes. They had to be taken to the hospital for treatment. So, this training having completed the training, our coaches who are here presently, our athletes will be in a position to act or perform as first aiders in an event we have a situation,’’ he said.

Facilitator of the basic lifesaving skills Dr. Mohamed Kargbo, a specialist anaesthetist and President of the Sierra Leone Society of anaesthetist said that lifesaving skills is very important for human survival as it contributes to save anyone’s life when affected by lack of consciousness, pulse or breathing adding that first aid before going to the hospital has saved many lives.

He said that people’s belief have in some instances delaying intervention when some felt arrested or go unconscious  sometimes associating it to a witch gun  thus urging everyone to help as through CPR it can help restore someone’s life back to life and help the individual survive.

‘’Immediately if you are with someone and such person has lost consciousness, such person has stopped breathing, such person has no pulse. Immediately start doing chest compression and try to breathe for that person. It can save that person’s life,’’ Dr. Kargbo urged participants.

One of the participants, Isatu Kamara underscored the timeliness of the one day workshop stating that she did learn a lot adding that such training is very important to anyone in having an idea on how to do basic CPR as it contributes to save lives in times of need.

‘’ I want to extend my thanks and appreciation to Life Saving Society and Change up Sports for this timely workshop to show us and to understand these lifesaving skills. I promise to teach others in my community and in any case I am faced with, I am now armed with the skills to save lives,’’ she promised.