St John New Zealand – Preparing Wairoa’s Young People to Lead in an Emergency

The programme was a practical, hands-on experience which focused on increasing the confidence of young people to be able to respond to challenging conditions. St John delivered the six-day programme in Wairoa, a community which previously hasn’t had a St John Youth Division due to its rural location and relative isolation.

Some of the topics that the young people studied were “Understanding Myself”; “Operating as a Team”; “Leadership Philosophy”; and “Leadership and Reflection”. Young people were supported to develop communication, goal-setting and conflict management skills. They took part in a Level One First Aid Course and were visited by the local operations team who familiarised them with the workings of emergency vehicles.

St John delivers youth development programmes to over 7,000 people each year which include a strong focus on leadership and responding to emergencies. Because of the expert support provided to young people by the ambulance operators and clinical teams, St John is confident that the training content is high quality and up to date.

Feedback from participants has been very positive:

“After completing these last two weekends I feel more confident to assist and lead in an emergency situation,” said MJ.

“Thanks, this has been awesome. I’ve learnt heaps and feel more confident,” said Wiki.

Some spoke of being inspired and motivated to pursue a career in the emergency services:

“You’ll see me next in one of those green uniforms,” said MJ.

“Me too, once I have got my license,” said Ngaru Toa.

St John New Zealand Tutors were equally impressed with the determination of the young people to get the most out of the programme:

“I was really impressed with the group of young people that were there. It is refreshing to meet such a motivated group of young people who are passionate about learning skills that will help them and their community in the future. I wish them all the best for the future. I know they will do very well,” says Frances.

Marlene Rankin, Regional Youth Manager (Central Region) for St John New Zealand spoke about her experience with the Wairoa programme:

“There are three aspects of facilitating this Community Leaders programme that have stayed with me. One: the openness of the course participants sharing their personal aspirations and their hopes for the future Wairoa community. Two: those moments when the learning/realisation clicked; the smiles, the confidence as the young people realised they can make a difference in times of need and they can step up and lead. And three: on the last day, they hosted a community engagement event and had such eagerness to share with their community leaders what they had learnt and their hopes for their community in future years.”

Wairoa’s rangatahi have been given a great opportunity to develop some awesome transferable skills that can be utilised in all aspects of their lives.