First Aid Competition for Khuzestan Students

The fifth round of first aid competition for school students known as ‘Amadeh (literally, ready in Persian) Olympiad’ has been initiated at the provincial level starting with Khuzestan Province.

It is organized in line with the national plan ‘Dardras’ (literally, helper) that started four years ago under a MOU between Iran’s Red Crescent Society and the Education Ministry, based on which each year thousands of students receive necessary training through the IRCS to help in situations where a person’s life may be at risk.

The competition is held in three stages: first in the county and later at the provincial and nationwide levels.

“The Olympiad is aimed at motivating students as well as assessing their level of competence in situations where people’s lives may be endangered. It also helps enhance their self-esteem,” said Saeid Babaei, IRCS deputy for student affairs, ISNA reported.

Khuzestan Province set the provincial stage for this year’s competition as its team’s performance in last year’s nationwide round was among the best.

This year, the winners in all three stages will be chosen to act as “assistant first aiders” in schools.

“Students have gained remarkable skills in first aid and are able to help share this knowledge with other students,” said the official.

Teaching first aid to students “will help their presence in contingencies and at scenes of accidents.”

First aid is the assistance given to any person suffering a sudden illness or injury with care provided to preserve life, prevent the condition from worsening, and/or promote recovery. It includes initial intervention in a serious condition prior to professional medical help being available, such as performing CPR as well as the complete treatment of minor conditions, such as applying a plaster to a cut. First aid is generally performed by the layperson, with many people trained in providing basic levels of first aid, and others willing to do so from acquired knowledge.

In the current academic year (started last September), like in the previous year, 400,000 students in 8,000 schools have been trained by IRCS instructors.