GHANAIAN YOUTH ASKED TO EXPAND THEIR KNOWLEDGE 17th August, 2018

                                                                    
A week-long National Youth Camp for volunteers of the Ghana Red Cross Society [GRCS] has ended at Bolgatanga, capital of the Upper East Region with a call on Ghanaian youth to “be patient in whatever they do or seek to achieve in life.

The National Youth Coordinator of the GRCS, Mr. Ernest P. Nyame-Annan who made the call, also charged the youth; “endeavor to expand your knowledge base because the more you know, the more you have options in life”. The Red Cross campers, numbered about 156 and came from selected communities across the 10 administrative regions of Ghana. The National Youth Camp which is held biannually, rotates among the regions and was last held in the Eastern Region in 2016.

Mr. Nyame-Annan disclosed that the Camp which was under the theme “Rekindling the Volunteer Spirit for Humanitarian Action”, was the 9th in the series and educated the campers on topics such as first aid training and drills, community health education strategies, youth in entrepreneurship and community entry techniques among others. The campers were also led to undertake a community health education outreach which sensitised community members on first aid, malaria and cholera prevention. According to him, the enthusiasm shown by the Volunteers was very encouraging and he hoped they will work with the same zeal upon their return to their various communities.

The National Youth Coordinator revealed that from an evaluation conducted by himself and other trainers at the end of the lessons, majority of the campers were equipped with first aid techniques that positioned them to effectively handle emergencies involving bleeding. He warned that, water shouldn’t be used to clean the spot of bleeding because such an action rather causes more bleeding as it doesn’t allow for clotting of the escaping blood. He advised that during a bleeding situation, pressure should rather be put on the bleeding area.

Mr. Nyame-Annan said the campers were also taught on the effective management of an unconscious person either breathing or not breathing. He cautioned that during emergencies of such nature where a person collapses for instance, “by-standers should not panic or run away, they should rather be bold and muster courage to provide immediate Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation [CPR] on the person which if administered properly, should give the victim a lifeline”.

Upper East Regional Manager of the GRCS, Mr. Joseph Abarike in his remarks urged the youth volunteers to be of good behavior to serve as examples for their colleagues to emulate, respect their parents and also, respect societal norms. He asked them to study very hard to pass their exams and if some do fail, they should be courageous enough to register and write again.

Mr. Abarike noted that as Red Cross Volunteers, the youth ought to be selfless and prepared to serve humanity any time the need arises. He also advised the youth; “don’t spend money by-heart so that you can save from the little you have in order to take care of yourselves in the unpredictable future. Attempt some business ventures so that while awaiting employment, you can earn some little income”.

Mr. Abarike also touched on the recent locking out of the Chief Executive Officer of the Tamale Teaching Hospital following which doctors and nurses withdrew their services in response to the action by the youth there. Though the health workers had since resumed work at the hospital, Mr. Abarike expressed worry about such acts and that, all necessary measures should be put in place by authorities to forestall similar acts in the future. 

This year’s camp was the first the Upper East Region had hosted and on the sidelines, the Campers also visited some tourist sites in the region including the Paga Crocodile Pond, the Sirigu Women’s Organisation for Pottery and Arts [SWOPA] centre as well as the Paga-Burkina Faso Border.