29 JANUARY 2012 | BAMYAN, AFGHANISTAN

 

Park rangers have used their training to treat injuries to visitors caused by traffic accidents.

 

When USAID organized an international tourism conference in Bamyan Province this spring to discuss ways to build the local tourism industry, preparing for medical problems that might befall visitors traveling far from professional care was one of obvious needs identified during conference discussions.

 

USAID turned to the Provincial Reconstruction Team’s Malaysian contingent for help in address this concern. The Malaysians worked with USAID project managers to provide intensive training in first aid to 20 tour guides and all 17 park rangers at Band-e-Amir, Afghanistan’s first official national park and a premier tourist destination 86 kilometers west of Bamyan municipality.

 

The first responder course covered recognizing and treating hypothermia and shock, managing burns, splinting and bandaging, performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and dealing with other medical situations.

During the midsummer training sessions, the Malaysians made a more dramatic contribution by responding to an emergency in progress. When word reached the visitor’s center that an eight-year-old girl was drowning in frigid Band-e-Amir Lake, two Malaysian medics interrupted their session, raced to the scene, and revived the unconscious victim.

 

The tour guides and park rangers successfully completed the course and the rangers have already used their training to treat injuries to visitors caused by traffic accidents at Band-e-Amir.

 

Collaboration between USAID and the Malaysians added depth and concrete skills to their joint capacity-building.