Students join forces to educate persons suffering with asthma

Students from the St Joseph’s Convent Kingstown and the St Martin’s Secondary School have joined forces to educate persons living with asthma about their condition.{{more}}

In its fifth year of existence, The Asthma Club is open to persons affected by asthma in any way, and is dedicated to educating the members on the management of their condition in an effort to improve their lives.

As World Asthma Day drew nearer, the club was pushing their objective more aggressively, to raise awareness of asthma as a serious public health problem, to increase recognition of the symptoms of asthma, to instruct students and parents on how to get proper treatment and to communicate scientific progress being made.

Celebrated on May 7, World Asthma Day is organized by the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) to improve asthma awareness and care around the world. In addition to its usual theme, “You can Control Your Asthma”, the subtheme “It’s Time to Control Asthma” was introduced this year.

Guidance counsellor at the St Martin’s Secondary School Lucy Theobalds, stated that she started the club in 2007, at St Martin’s, after helping a student who had a close encounter with death, due to asthma.

“The benefits of the club to the school are tremendous,” Theobalds said.

“On average, 155 young boys per school year enroll into the club. Visits to the emergency unit at the hospital have been minimal. Students are showing that they have grasped the information and are working toward managing themselves”.

Sessions for the club are held four times per term and are joined by students from St Martin’s sister school, St Joseph’s Convent Kingstown.

Many students can attest to being able to better control their asthma.

Shavanie Jack, a student from St Joseph’s Convent, pointed out that since joining the club, she has learned techniques that make asthma attacks infrequent.

“I learned to sit up and let air pass freely in and out of my lungs. Since then, I have practised this method and I have seen amazing results, and I have never had an asthma situation in terms of shortness of breath ever since,” Jack stated.

Non-asthmatics also have fulfilling experiences by being a part of the club.

St Martin’s Secondary School student Leandre Browne said that he wanted to be a part of the club after seeing a family member repeatedly suffering from asthma attacks.

“In my first year…I heard about the Asthma Club and wanted to join it. After joining it, I learned a lot of things like how to treat a person having an attack, using a pump, controlling your breathing,” Browne noted.

“It is a very good club to be in”.

Membership in the Asthma Club is open to both asthmatics and non-asthmatics. Students who enter the school and wish to be a part of the club are required to register and get parental permission to join the club.(BK)