Qatar Red Crescent QRCS School Program
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QRCS School Program

Student's Guide to Voluntary and Social Work under the Umbrell​a of QRCS

Over four decades, Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) has never ceased to fulfil its mission as a volunteering charity organization that seeks to serve the Qatari and other communities, working to improve the lives of vulnerable people and enhance their socioeconomic, health, and cultural conditions.

One key dimension of QRCS's vision is to enrich the knowledge and skills of society members, especially the youth; to contribute to the creation of new generations with a sense of responsibility, leadership, preparedness, and proactivity to help others and deal with emergencies or risks; and to encourage social integration and acceptance of other people's differences among society members of multicultural backgrounds. To that end, in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, QRCS has launched the "QRCS School Program", an innovative, ambitious initiative to provide school students, teachers, and ​administrative staff with practical skills and awareness regarding emergency preparedness, disaster response, risk reduction, first aid, health education, social harmony, and open-mindedness.

In this guide, you will find detailed information on the aspects of this initiative, which are the main scopes of work for the QRCS School Program. Under the supervision of the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, the schools can commission for their students training courses in those fields, delivered by QRCS's specialists and medical professionals.

We look forward to working together towards a well-educated youth, protecting the school and local communities against malicious ideologies, and building a generation of awareness and modern lifestyle.​​​​​

Social Program

The "Social Peace and Integration" program offers informative lectures that instill the positive values and qualities into the school students, in order for them to better communicate with people of different walks of life.

General Skills Learned:
  • Self-discipline and balanced psychology
  • Open-mindedness and respect towards different cultures
General Topics:
  • Universal human principles of coexistence and social harmony
  • Good mental and moral characters (such as self-discipline, adaptation, and balanced personality)
Objectives:
  • To encourage positive behavior among the youngsters, so that they can accept differences and engage in social life
  • To develop teamwork skills, flexibility, and respect for others
Target Audience:
  • Middle school students of the Ministry of Education and Higher Education's public and private schools
  • Social workers at schools
Duration:
  • The training duration is 1.5 hours.
Training Methodology:
  • Presentation – lectures – group discussions – side activities
Team:
  • A group of QRCS specialists and academics with long experience in public training​

Relief Program

The "Safe School" program seeks to raise public awareness, through training, about the safe procedures to reduce community-level risks and how to address their impact. This training is based on the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, adopted by the United Nations for the period 2015-2030. It serves as an effective tool to emphasize the importance of preparedness, engagement of all segments of society in sustainable development and capacity-building, enrichment of future generations' knowledge and practices that promote a culture of disaster risk reduction, and enhancement of preparedness and response capacity. The program is divided into two phases:​

Preparation

  • One day before the actual training, the Risk Reduction Team visits the host school to outline a design-customized training plan, install the emergency exist and assembly point signage, and identify unsafe areas around the school buses.
  • The team examines the school's exits and doorways and evaluates all possible sources of risk in the premises.
  • The team makes lists of students, teachers, administrative staff, health issues, disabilities, and classrooms, in order to allocate the right team members.

Implementation

A) Theoretical:
  • Diverse lectures for students, teachers, and administrative staff
  • Informative brochures and printouts for students, teachers, and administrative staff
B) Practical:
  • Applied exercise of premises evacuation and organized movement to predetermined assembly points​
General Skills Learned:
  • Preparedness, quick thinking, and rapid risk management
  • Good situation assessment and location of premises doorways/exits
General Topic:
  • Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (UN 2015-2030)
Objectives:
  • To improve the ability of society members to respond immediately and effectively to disasters
  • To build the knowledge of safety and security standards among school community
  • To promote a culture of preparedness and precaution for protection against disasters
Target Audience:
  • Middle school students of the Ministry of Education and Higher Education's public and private schools
  • School teachers and administrative staff
Duration:
  • Preparation: 3 hours (a risk reduction team visits the school to outline a training plan in coordination with the school management).
  • Implementation: 5 hours/one school day, depending on the school size (lectures are given to students and teachers, followed by a simulated earthquake evacuation scenario).
Training Methodology:
  • Scientific, skill-oriented presentations – lectures – group discussions – evacuation and disaster response practice
Team:
  • A qualified group of relief workers, risk reduction specialists, and Disaster Management Camp graduates​​

Health Program

The purpose of the program is to educate the students about good health habits and skills and to correct any misconceptions they have, so that they become able to maintain a healthy and safe life for themselves and their beloved ones. This program involves two main parts:

First Aid Training

Through workshops and lectures on how to apply the right first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) steps, provide immediate help to minimize the impact of emergencies, save the victim's life, and stabilize the victim's condition until medical assistance is available.

Health Education

An informative activity that encourages schoolchildren to adopt healthy lifestyles and practices, promote public health, and learn about the common disease. This is achieved through the following:

  • Awareness lectures on different topics such as food, hygiene, communicable diseases, prevention, home safety, oral health, among others.
  • Workshops on how to observe healthy habits.
  • Health campaigns and exhibitions at schools, under their general health strategy.
General Skills Learned:
  • Responding quickly and properly to an injury
  • Identifying serious signs that require medical help
  • Providing first aid, CPR, and artificial respiration
General Topic:
  • Basics of first aid, CPR, and health education
Objective:
  • To offer clear guidelines and simple demonstrations about how to deal with the cases that require immediate medical care.
Target Audience:
  • Middle school students of the Ministry of Education and Higher Education's public and private schools
  • School teachers and administrative staff
Workshop Attendance:
  • A maximum of 30 students/teachers is recommended per session, to ensure quality training.
Duration:
  • The training duration is 1.5-2 hours.
Training Methodology:
  • Scientific, skill-oriented presentations – lectures – group discussions – first aid and CPR practice
Topics:
  • Initial response and assessment
  • Minimized impact and stabilization of condition
  • Prioritization of medical help
  • CPR and artificial respiration
Team:
  • A qualified group of QRCS's physicians and paramedics with a long experience in public training​​​

Introduction

What Is QRCS School Program?

The QRCS School Program is an innovative training scheme to provide school students, teachers, and administrative staff with practical skills and awareness regarding emergency preparedness, disaster/accident response, risk reduction, first aid, health education, social harmony, and open-mindedness.

Vision

As a leading humanitarian provider, QRCS's core vision is to mobilize the power of society and work hard to help those in need. It is inspired by the human development pillar of Qatar National Vision 2030, which focuses on advancing the younger generations, promoting a national ethos and loyalty, and establishing a world-class educational system that builds the capacity of Qatari students and strengthens their skills and motivation. Through a combination of education and training, the end product will be a reliable and resourceful generation that is able and willing to contribute to the welfare of its own society.

QRCS boasts an active role in the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, and it serves as an auxiliary to the State of Qatar in its humanitarian and social efforts, both locally and internationally. The vision of the QRCS School Program is to create qualified teams o​f students interested in humanitarian and community service. The target audience of the program are the students, teachers, and administrative staff of public and private schools across the country.

The goal of the QRCS School Program is to supply the know-how to deal with emergencies and unexpected situations. To that end, one-to-one drills and formalized guidelines are given to the beneficiaries, in order to make them better aware and capable of risk reduction techniques and ultimately become helpful society members.

Objectives

The QRCS School Program aims at:
  • Supporting the educational process and investing in youth development by providing theoretical and practical training in first aid, risk reduction, and social integration; and
  • Creating a cadre of trained students and student leaders to ensure the precaution and protection against disasters and dangers.

Mechanism (Formation of QRCS School Teams)

  • In coordination with school management and parents, the school coordinator nominates 25 students to form a QRCS School Team.
  • To ensure maximum benefit, it is recommended to keep the same team members, so that they can attend all the drills.
  • The QRCS School Program offers dynamic workshops, theoretical lectures, and practical exercises at schools.
  • The training sessions are delivered by experts and specialists from QRCS.

Roles and Responsibilities

School (coordinator or specialist):
  • Nominating students and forming of QRCS School Team
  • Facilitating training
  • Communicating and coordinating with the QRCS School Program trainer/coordinator
QRCS School Program trainer:
  • Administering theoretical and practical training
  • Communicating and coordinating with the school
QRCS School Team members:
  • Attending theoretical and practical training
  • Participating in first aid and risk reduction scenarios
  • Representing the QRCS School Team when needed, providing assistance and guidance, and working towards an injury-free school environment​​
  1. QRCS School Program

    An innovative scheme designed to train school students, teachers, and administrative staff in disaster preparedness/response, risk reduction, first aid, health education, and social harmony and integration​