We were so happy to welcome back some good friends and long term supporters of the school this week.
Peter Bender first brought a group of friends to visit the school when we were digging the foundations for the very first classroom. Since then they have been some of the schools most dedicated supporters and this year they came ready to share some much needed skills.
Dr. Karla Pastrana and paramedic Chelsea Noe had organised to give first aid classes during their time with us, one session for the older children and another for the teachers and other adults from the community. However, little did they realise that they would be called upon to run a doctors surgery with in minutes of their arrival. They had kindly brought with them first aid supplies for the school and were able to give practical lessons in their use straight away!
Dr Karla’s Surgery
The first aid classes were a great success, with both adults and children asking if they would come back and give follow on courses in the future. Within a few days of their visit we had the chance to practice some of the skills they had taught us when one of the children fell from a tree and broke her arm. This would have been a great deal worse if we had not had the training to splint the arm and the splints and bandages that they had provided us with. When we got the girl to hospital the doctor complimented us on our splinting and we were extremely pleased to have been able to handle the situation calmly and minimise the pain the she had to suffer.
Learning to splint a broken arm
While the doctoring was going on the two architects in the team, Alvin Pastrana and Andre Vite were surveying the school and surrounding area. They have offered to help us develop a plan for the future expansion of the school, community education centre and its buildings. Their knowledge and experience will be invaluable to the future development of the project.
We were also joined by chimpanzee vet Dr. Jocelyn Bezner and Captain Tris Colket as well as the trip organisers Peter Bender and Anne Ostberg. Over the time we spent together each provided us with valuable advice from their own experiences as well as delighting the children with their warmth and fun (not to mention a few exotic sweet treats).
Come back soon dear friends.
The children’s first aid group
Good Friends