Tembisa schoolgirls become firefighters for a day
The initiative was part of Ekurhuleni Emergency Services' Take A Girl Child to Work Day
TWENTY girls from three Tembisa schools had the chance to experience becoming firefighters and paramedics for a day.
The girls, from Winnie Mandela, Bokamosa and Jiyani secondary schools, spent the day at the Ekurhuleni Disaster and Emergency Management Services (DEMS) Training Academy, in Boksburg, on May 26.
The initiative was part of DEMS’s Take A Girl Child to Work Day.
According to Ekurhuleni Emergency Services’ media liaison official, William Ntladi, the girls “were taken through their paces by learning basic Bystander Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), fire hose drill and ladder drill, and were shown how to escape from a smoke-filled house.”
They were also given personal protective equipment in compliance with safety regulations. Every girl showed a keen interest in all the scenarios to which they were subjected.
” I never thought that the fire department and a firefighter’s work is so interesting,” said a matric student in the group.
“They all loved every moment they spent in the training academy, where qualified instructors assisted in information dissemination to them,” Ntladi concluded.
Take a Girl Child to Work Day is endorsed by the Department of Education and targets girls in Grades 10,11, and 12.
Female students are invited from various schools within the jurisdiction of the City of Ekurhuleni. By investing in this day, the municipality helps to inspire the nation’s girl children to make informed career decisions that can positively change their future.
The programme started at 9am and was supported by many schools around the city.
Girls were transported from the Spring Civic Centre to various other municipal departments of their choice. After lunch was served, at around 3.30pm, they were then transported back to the civic centre and taken home.
