The Student Council of the Secondary Medical School Tuzla successfully implemented the initiative “Be a Hero!” as part of the project Digi:mon – Monitoring and Improving the Status of Youth through the Establishment of a Digital Youth Center, carried out by World Vision BH Foundation and the Association “Naša djeca” Sarajevo, in cooperation with the Ministry of Civil Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and financially supported by the European Union.
This initiative aimed to strengthen young people’s knowledge and awareness of basic first aid – a skill that can literally save lives but still does not receive enough attention in our society.
During the project, a first aid quiz was organized for elementary school students, and 10 workshops were held across 10 high schools. Through these workshops, 270 young people gained first aid knowledge, and an additional 400 were reached indirectly through posters and flyers distributed to the public.
The initiative was especially valuable thanks to pre- and post-workshop testing of participants. The results revealed a concerning lack of initial knowledge – as many as 33.7% of participants did not know the emergency phone number. This clearly points to a serious gap in knowledge of both basic and more complex first aid procedures. However, final testing showed significant progress and confirmed that education has a concrete, positive impact. Before the workshops, participants scored an average of 48.26% correct answers, while post-workshop scores rose to an average of 92.81%.
“Our mission was to empower our peers and the community with knowledge that can save lives. If we’ve taught even one person how to respond in a crisis – our goal has been achieved,” stated the Student Council of the Secondary Medical School Tuzla.
The initiative “Be a Hero!” is an example of how young people, with support from relevant institutions and organizations, can be drivers of positive change in society.
“Our local project/initiative began with a detailed situational analysis of the position, needs, and status of youth in our city, and resulted in a series of educational sessions on providing first aid. We are continuing the project with an advocacy initiative for the systemic introduction of first aid education in elementary schools,” emphasized Ajla Džambić, local project coordinator.
In addition to the mentioned partners and donors, the local project was also supported by the Ministry of Education and Science of Tuzla Canton and the Red Cross of Tuzla Canton.
