We recently traveled to Oklahoma with our children to help with the relief efforts there. In preparation, we put together first aid kits (along with collecting first aid kits and additional supplies to hand to survivors or volunteers).
In times of disaster, first aid kits are critical. Homes and businesses are destroyed. No one has any first aid kits laying around for easy access. One survivor said his first aid kit was in his boat . . . which was in pieces across his property. Moving debris, cleaning up, and recovering property will result in accidents and injuries. There are glass shards, pieces of metal, fiberglass fragments, and random sharp objects everywhere in areas affected by disaster.
I used the list provided by the American Red Cross as a guide to find items to put in the first aid kit. Here are some of the items that we put in our kits:
- Various sizes of band aids (the boys chose the ever popular Angry Birds, just in case it was a kid that needed a band aid)
- Gauze and tape
- TWEEZERS (man, this is super important for First Aid Kits going to a disaster area)
- Scissors
- Flashlight
- Ointment
- Wipes
- Latex-free gloves
- Ibuprofen/asprin
- Breathing barrier
- Stickers (for kids)
- Hard candy (for kids)
- Hydrogen peroxide
- Sanitary napkins
- Toothbrush holder (super handy to hold band aids and ointment)
- Gum
- Tums
- Q-tips
- Containers for the kits
The first thing we did was place band aids and ointment in the toothbrush holder. Easy!
Then we set the assembly line up and talked about each item as the First Aid Kits were made. I was amazed at our conversations on First Aid help. This act of service ended up being almost more educational for the boys on what to do to help someone who is hurt than it was a service act. Love it when those types of things happen!
