©InfoWhen Sayma’s young daughter started choking and couldn’t breathe, the young mother was terrified – but then her first aid training kicked in and she knew exactly what to do.
The incident happened when Sayma’s three-year-old daughter, Arddi, suddenly began to choke one day at their Edinburgh home and couldn’t breathe. For a moment, Sayma was frozen with fear but she soon burst into action.
She said: “Thank goodness I had completed the Red Cross first aid course, as the knowledge was still fresh in my mind. I just stopped panicking and started to slap her back. After the fourth slap, Arddi started to breathe again and in less than a minute she was okay again. It all happened very quickly but felt like a lifetime – I thought she might not breathe again!”
Helping minority groups
Luckily, Sayma had recently attended a first aid course as part of the Red Cross’ black and minority ethnic capacity building (BMECB) project in Edinburgh. Now Sayma wants to become a Red Cross volunteer and help raise first aid awareness among local minority groups – especially the Bangladeshi community.
The BMECB project has been working with a number of minority ethnic groups throughout Edinburgh for three years and its first aid sessions are becoming very popular. Dr Shaheen Ahmed, project co-ordinator, said: “Ultimately, I’d like to see at least one person from every minority ethnic household in Edinburgh trained in first aid skills.”
Accessible training
Kay Penman is senior lecturer at Stevenson College, where Sayma undertook her training. She said: “When I invited the Red Cross to give my students a first aid lesson, I’d no idea how useful it would prove to be!
“I was really moved when Sayma told me she had saved her daughter’s life using the techniques she’d picked up during the training – but I wasn’t too surprised. The training was excellent: enjoyable, full of practical exercises and accessible to all the students, whatever their level of English.”