Teens help save lives
Katikati teenagers have an opportunity to learn how to find lost or injured people, while gaining outdoor skills and qualifications.
Each year, the Tauranga-based Youth Search And Rescue (YSAR) programme accepts 24 new trainees who participate in a weekly lesson and monthly camps. The three-year course teaches students to take care of themselves in difficult outdoor environments and eventually aid police and skilled volunteers with official searches. Along the way, students collect first aid and other qualifications and learn to use drones and other specialist technical equipment.
Applications for next year’s intake close close tomorrow — September 28.
“For a lot of our students, YSAR is personally lifechanging,” says founder Steve Campbell.
“But these young people are also making a major contribution to the community and some of them will very probably go on to save lives.”
Campbell says Katikati students have been involved in the programme since its inception 10 years ago.
He credits much of the programme’s success to the leadership and knowledge of trainers who include people with military and medical backgrounds, outdoor education specialists, police officers and firefighters.
YSAR, launched in 2008 in response to an aging search and rescue volunteer base, has surpassed all expectations and attracted interest from throughout New Zealand and around the world, including Canada and Singapore.
This year, for the first time, a group of four students and two leaders attended a training exercise with a search and rescue organisation near San Francisco in the US. On their return, they met the US ambassador.
“Being a YSAR graduate opens up a world of possibilities to these young people,” Campbell says.