Chinese embassy donates training dummies to police |30 December 2022

The Seychelles Police Force has received several dummies from the Chinese embassy that will be used during the recruits’ First Aid training.

The Chinese ambassador, Guo Wei, handed over the donation to the Commissioner of Police, Ted Barbe, in a short ceremony yesterday morning at the Seychelles Police Academy, at Pointe Larue, in the presence of other senior police officers and representatives of the Chinese embassy in Seychelles.

As first responders to crime scenes, the police have long been incorporating First Aid in its recruit’s curriculum training, so they are better equipped to fulfil one of the force’s primary mandate, which is the preservation of life.

The training is done in partnership with the Red Cross Society of Seychelles and this year the force recruited its own first aid instructors, which it said will eventually conduct the training of new officers as well as contribute towards refresher courses in that domain.

When accepting the donation, Commissioner of Police, Mr Barbe thanked the Chinese embassy for its generosity and said the dummies will be very useful.

He said it comes at an opportune time as their officers are frequently faced with situations where they have to administer First Aid, including performing CPR either on locals and foreigners, in order to save lives.

“Training using dummies is highly important, and will be useful in our officer’s daily work, as it will help enhance their competency and knowledge and enhance their confidence when handling real life situations. I am convinced the recruits and instructors will benefit greatly”, he said.

For her part, Ambassador Guo Wei, highlighted the importance of the security sector for a nation and its people and thanked the Seychelles’ police for their good work and professionalism.

“I have visited many African countries, but here in Seychelles during these four years, I have never experienced a moment of lack of safety and all this is thanks to your work,” she said.

The head of the Occupational Health and Safety Unit of the Seychelles Police Force, Sergeant Jeannine Maria said the dummies will contribute towards the future of the police’s first aid training, adding it will “eventually help us meet our schedule and targets which is to train all police officers in the event of an emergency.”

Yesterday’s ceremony also included a short demonstration of First Aid application on a dummy, by two police officers.

As a show of appreciation for their generous donation, Commissioner Barbe presented Mrs Guo Wei with a small token on behalf of the force.

The accompanying photos show some highlights of the ceremony.

Photos by Emma Ah-Kong