Train children in first aid, Charlene urges

Princess Charlene of Monaco holds Prince Jacques, the heir apparent to the Monegasque throne. Charlene wants to empower children to deal with emergencies in their communities. Picture: Valery Hache

Princess Charlene of Monaco holds Prince Jacques, the heir apparent to the Monegasque throne. Charlene wants to empower children to deal with emergencies in their communities. Picture: Valery Hache

Published Sep 13, 2016

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Geneva - Princess Charlene of Monaco, the South African Olympic swimmer from Durban, has taken up a new role as goodwill ambassador for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

She joined the Red Cross at the UN in Geneva before the World First Aid Day on Saturday in calling for children everywhere to be trained in first aid.

“Children are particularly susceptible to accidents in their daily lives and especially at risk during major emergencies, like natural disasters, conflicts and epidemics,” said the wife of Prince Albert II of Monaco.

“As a mother I feel it is good to teach children to learn to swim as young as possible.

“Empowering young people as first aid providers will not just save lives, but will prepare them for a future in which they can be active and responsible citizens,” she said.

Charlene was a finalist in the 2000 Sydney Olympics, and a triple gold medallist and silver medallist at the 1999 All Africa Games in Johannesburg.

She swam for the Durban-based Seagulls Club and later joined the Tuks Swimming Club at the High Performance Centre of the University of Pretoria. In 2011, she married Prince Albert.

Charlene works in her own Monaco-based foundation that she founded in 2012. Its aim is to reach children through sport.

Asked why she focused specifically on drowning, Charlene said: “I lost my cousin to drowning when I was five years old and I have some friends who have lost their children to drowning. So I thought it is something that I would like to be actively involved in.”

To spread this education, she decided to consult sporting governing bodies and other foundations, including the Red Cross.

“We have a boat in the Med called Respond where we are working along with the Italian Red Cross.”

Charlene noticed that children make up a large portion of the population that receives first aid in everyday emergencies and large-scale disasters, yet they are often bystanders when peers and family members are injured.

The Red Cross aims to equip children with information and skills to turn them into first aid providers in their communities.

The Geneva-based organisation is the largest first aid educator and provider in the world.

Independent Foreign Service

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