A fax to the Secretary General PRCS from the Kohinoor Maple leaf Group this May read 'letter of thanks' in its subject line:

Some times even a little knowledge is better than no knowledge at all. As in
First Aid.

The Pakistan Red Crescent Society's National Training & Resource Centre has been involved in providing First Aid skills for the past four and a half years to the corporate, public, private sectors and free trainings to staff & volunteers in vulnerable communities. With a seemingly 'too good to be true' ambition of spreading the skills to every home in Pakistan, they undauntedly tote the slogan' A First Aider in every Home'.

On the 19th and 20th of May 2003, the NT&RC coordinated with the Directorate of Workers Education, a First Aid Orientation Course for middle management, workers and Trade Union leaders at Kohinoor Mills, Gujar Khan. Dr Ahmar and Ms. Beula facilitated the training.
Three days later a heavy fire broke out in the Blow Room Section of the Mills. Equipped with newly acquired skills of 3 days, the workers braved the fire and managed First Aid to many injured colleagues. No lives were lost.

The closing line of the fax from the Technical Manager at Kohinoor read 'I would like to convey my thanks to your staff who enabled us to save many lives'.
First Aid makes the difference not only between life and death but also between indifference and solidarity, apathy and action. Red Cross/Red Crescent First Aid Education is about instilling that vital confidence to act and change behavior.

The initial aim is to minimise the impact of health emergencies and to stabilise and treat the affected persons till professional help is made available when necessary. It is the ordinary people and volunteers who mobilise themselves to provide that initial help which makes the difference at the scene of crisis.
Sometimes, the most basic knowledge of life saving skills can help turn a disaster around.