Abu Dhabi: National Ambulance and Special Olympics UAE have launched a community initiative to provide a safe training environment for People of Determination with intellectual disabilities.
The ‘Train Safely’ initiative enables and educates their coaches and teachers with vital first aid training and life-saving knowledge and skills that will help them deal with potential medical emergencies and sports injuries while maintaining COVID-19 safety protocols in sports centers, academies, and Unified Champion Schools across the UAE. The initiative is part of National Ambulance’s Corporate Social Responsibility programme and continues the ongoing collaboration between the two parties, which was officially formed in 2019.
Train Safely initiative will be delivered by National Ambulance’s team of qualified experts through an internationally accredited training curriculum covering basics of first aid, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), and automated external defibrillator (AED) while maintaining COVID-19 safety protocols.
At a virtual event, organised during the week celebrating the second anniversary of the Special Olympics World Games — Abu Dhabi 2019, the initiative was launched under the patronage of Shamma Bint Suhail bin Faris Al Mazrui, UAE Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Chair of the Special Olympics UAE and in the presence of Ahmed Al Hajeri, Chief Executive Officer of National Ambulance and Talal Al Hashemi, Executive Director of the Special Olympics UAE.
Corporate commitment
Ahmed Saleh Al Hajeri, CEO of National Ambulance, said: “The Train Safely initiative reflects our corporate commitment to enhance prevention and safety methods and spread and instill a first aid culture among the community and the circle around the People of Determination. We will continue to invest in efforts that ensure the sustainability of their inclusion, empowerment, and the provision of a safe environment in society to help them achieve their goals.”
Talal Al Hashemi, National Director of Special Olympics UAE, said: “Through this initiative, we help empower our coaches at Special Olympics UAE with updated health and safety knowledge and skills to support our ability to provide vital care to People of Determination with intellectual disabilities. Our joint effort and coordination will allow us to achieve the highest levels of quality care and safety for our Athletes during competitions and events that they will participate in.”
The strategic partnership between Special Olympics UAE and National Ambulance was formed in 2019 and under its umbrella, more than 667 participants attended interactive trainings and innovative virtual educational sessions covering a variety of health and safety topics including awareness on COVID-19 and administering first aid during the pandemic.
