Manunui School students (from left) Te Oho Mai Rangi Komene-Gray, Chance Te Ahuru, Lucah Bennett and Vaughn Willis have received Hato Hone St John Courage in Action Bravery Awards for their lifesaving actions on a school bus.
Manunui School students (from left) Te Oho Mai Rangi Komene-Gray, Chance Te Ahuru, Lucah Bennett and Vaughn Willis have received Hato Hone St John Courage in Action Bravery Awards for their lifesaving actions on a school bus.
Quick thinking by four central North Island primary school pupils may have saved the life of another child on a school bus.
Now the children’s actions have been recognised with Hato Hone St John Courage in Action Bravery Awards, presented at Manunui School, a semi-rural school south of Taumarunui.
TeOho Mai Rangi Komene-Gray, Chance Te Ahuru, Lucah Bennett and Vaughn Willis received the awards at a ceremony attended by their families, students and staff, and Hato Hone St John representatives.
“Earlier this year, Te Oho Mai Rangi, Chance, Lucah and Vaughn were taking the bus to school when another child on the bus accidentally swallowed a small bead and began choking,” Hato Hone St John said.
“The child was struggling to breathe, and the lifesaving skills the four children had learned through St John in Schools kicked in. They worked quickly to dislodge the bead, potentially saving their school colleague’s life.”
Te Oho Mai Rangi said she remembered what St John in Schools tutor Megan Lawton taught her during a session at the school.
She said she remained calm and worked with Chance, Lucah and Vaughn to successfully get the bead out of the choking child’s throat.
Celebrating the Manunui School students’ Courage in Action Bravery Awards are (from left) Nicky White (Hato Hone St John Community Engagement Co-ordinator), Ian Corney (chair Hato Hone St John Taumarunui Area Committee), Eileen Kay (Taumarunui Area Committee member), Megan Lawton (St John in Schools educator), students Te Oho Mai Rangi Komene-Gray, Chance Te Ahuru, Lucah Bennett and Vaughn Willis, William Jane-Hansen, Stacee Jackson (emergency medical assistant) and Gunn Hickmott (paramedic).
More than a million children have attended the St John in Schools programme since it began.
It teaches lifesaving skills to preschool, primary and intermediate-aged children, and gives them the confidence to act in an emergency. This year, the programme is supported by Ryman Healthcare.
Lawton said children loved the “hands-on” nature of the programme.
“After delivering our Responding programme last year, these amazing four tamariki knew how to respond in an emergency. They had learned and practised DRSABCD [danger, response, send for help, airway, breathing, CPR and defibrillation], as well as how to manage choking and other emergencies.
“It’s just incredible how they so quickly put their skills and knowledge into action with confidence, courage and calm to help save a life.”
The Courage in Action Bravery Award recognises individuals, groups or classrooms of tamariki who demonstrate actions that contribute to an emergency response or affect positive wellbeing for themselves, peers,whānau or members of the community.
Recipients are given a Courage in Action certificate and a first aid kit.
