The National St John Ambulance (NStJA) service today presented certificates to a total of 109 participants who successful took part in the Community First Aid Training organized and hosted by NStJA. The training took place from the 11th to the 17th of December 2024 with a total of seven sessions each that the participants took part in. This is the first of its kind training that NStJA had initiated purposely for both taxi and PMV bus drivers, however, members of the community also showed interest in taking part in training. Manager for Communities Programs of NStJA, Zoe Saulep, said that there was a good turnout of participants who joined to be part of the training, especially from the community members. “Though the training was purposely for both taxi and PMV bus drivers, we didn’t really receive a lot of responses from them, so we decided to include some of the community members as well as some members of the security personnel; that being the police force included.” “As the first of its kind, there is no other organizations that have done something like this and so it was a really good opportunity for the members of the community to be part of it to learn some new skills especially to help people who are in need and when there is an emergency.” In terms of emergency cases such as motor vehicle accidents, or whether a woman is in labor, this training will help equip them with the basic knowledge they need to save another life. "It was a good learning experience for them and also really fun where they were able to interact more, and I hope that we can expand this program to other areas in the years to come.” In addition, with the hope to extend more to other provinces in the future, funding is also important for them to carry out training programs such as this. Meanwhile, Saulep thanked the support of Sir Brian Bell Foundation in making this initiative possible. Apart from this, Saulep mentioned that NStJA have a number of programs that they are also carrying out such as the first aid in school program which has been running since 2018. This has seen a total of more than 10, 000 students across seven provinces in the country that have taken part in this school program. “With more additional support, we’re able to extend the program to other rural parts of Papua New Guinea where first aid is needed because first aid saves life.”