hi All, this might be a lengthy mail. request you to bear with me, since there is some useful information here. i have, in the past few months begun working with an organization working in the field of saving lives- selling medical emergency equipment, disaster preparedness, first aid kits, evacuation equipment, and the like. part of our job is also to train individuals, and organizations in first-aid, and CPR. to ensure i have the facts right, i've aquired a certification from the American Heart Association's Basic life support programme as a service provider. it was interesting to teach the doctors how to work around a person with total blindness and partial hearing impairment, while learning life saving skills from them. going one step further, i was in Bangalore,partnering with Rotary Bangalore Abilities- at Samarthanam Trust last weekend to train persons with vision impairment and a couple of other disabilities the art of saving a life. a day long programme taught them how to identify a heart attack, its difference from a cardiac arrest and the quick response time. additionally, we walked them through all the CPR manouvers practically on medical manikins. we also taught them how to use the External Automated Defibrillator, the equipment that delivers a shock to revive a heart from a cardiac arrest. all this is possible for us, the lay people, with and without disabilities. since we also deal with first-aid kits, i was keen on having something simple for folks who didn't see. for that, i'd had a few sample kits designed, and distributed to the participants who had a positive feedback. there is always space for improvement and that comes with suggestions from the community. the idea is also to make these kits cost effective, and easy to use. i have in mind to have one simple travel kit, and one slightly involved home kit. the purpose of this whole story is to discuss how little is being done in this particular space with us, the relatively more vulnerable cross-section of society. we all live with families, and are responsible citizens, and efficient workers at our work spaces. why then, shouldn't we have the ability to be a resource who can save a life? i have only become more convinced and passionate about this in the months i've worked at it. i am keen to take this knowledge to more organizations, groups, work spaces, and of course, individuals. i would be more than happy to discuss this with anyone interested in knowing more. thanks for having read this, in case you've made it until the end. :) Best, Payal
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