Home Blog

First Aid and Emergency Situations Workshop in Alta, Norway

To attend this workshop please fill out the registration form !

Your Feedback is appreciated

This event is held in partnership with:

Discovery Alta Røde Kors First Aid and Emergency SituationsStudenthuse City Alta

 

 

The Workshop is designed to provide basic knowledge and skills to perform the essential life saving techniques in either a medical emergency or a life threatening situation, natural disasters and such.

First Aid and Emergency Situations Workshop Description

  • How to prevent an accident, regardless of its nature:
    • Study case offered by Discovery Channel Romania “Colectiv” club fire disaster in which 65 persons died in 2015.
  • How to recognize a medical emergency.
  • The international “112” system: AMBULANCE, police, fireman, etc .
  • The “survival” chain;
  • What to do in Norway regarding the international system?
  • What to do when you find a person lying unconscious and how you can give first aid
  • How to do a correct cardiopulmonary resuscitation;
  • How to take care of the a bleeding wound until the doctors arrive;
  • What to do in case of burns or electrocution without worsening the condition of the wounded one;
  • What to do with a person who has suffered a fracture, until the doctors arrival;
  • As you give first aid to a person who is choking;
  • How to save a person who suffered an intoxication.

Event details

  1. When: Friday, 25.11.2016, 14:00 (local time) 
  2. Where: Studentuset City Scene, Markedsgata 3 Alta, Norway
  3. Registration form 
  4. Feedback 

 

 

Black Sea Network Closing Event

The program ended on the 10th of March 2016, with the final closing conference. We had representatives from 7 Embassies and more than 10 NGOs from Romania. Thank you for your involvement and stay close for the next projects.

Black Sea Network – A Romanian Story

What can a man wish more than being free in the middle of the wild nature and surrounded by the most beautiful people on Earth?

Personally I am my own best friend and my worst enemy. For a long time now it is casual to have discussions on any topic, at any time, with myself. While discussing, me and my alter ego (aka P), we end up debating about freedom, limits, challenges, love, friendships, values and principles of life. Lately P kept on asking me which are my limits, how much can I get out of my comfort zone and if I am able to manage myself in sensitive and limiting situations. So… I started to think… do I actually have some limits I cannot overpass as a human being or are we meant to be autodidact and train ourselves to the next limit level without arriving to an end point? I am the kind of person who loves to learn by trying and doing. So I decided to combine something that I love and I have an expertise in, with something completely new that will challenge me to the point that I will just ask myself how did I ever think to take such a decision.

After getting a positive answer from the Adventure Diplomacy team in reference to my application for what was going to be the experience of my life, I went to the sports shop, bought a pair of hiking shoes, some merino socks, leggings and t-shirts, I ordered a 20 CHF backpack online, booked my flights and on the 15th of October I jumped on a plane to Tbilisi.

I have to mention that I left to this diplomatic expedition with no expectations! I had no clue how I will be, how I will feel; I just wanted to live in the present and be authentic. I am telling you: life with no expectations is not sad at all, it’s the best you can get from everyone and everything! It was probably the first time I actually managed to not create all kind of scenarios in my head. I just had the fear I will hate myself for the decision to join the team and having the life of a mountain person with the minimum of supplies needed, with me.

Since I live in Zurich I met the Romanian and Moldavian team in our common stop from Istanbul. The hospitality they showed from the very first second I saw them was just the beginning of what was going to be though love we all received during our stay in the mountains. The adventure started for real when we landed during the night in Tbilisi and we started to negotiate with the so called taxi drivers to take us to the apartment we had rented. Why was is that interesting? Because we were 9 people with at least two huge pieces of luggage each and we were struggling to fit in a pretty small car; the driver was pushing the luggage in all the space he could find, trying to fit it all in, but it turned out to be mission impossible so we jumped to the next level – we took two cars. We were lucky to have our beloved Olesia and Valeriu who were masters of Russian language so that saved us when we reached the street of our apartment. No name, no number. Is our reservation actually real? Or someone tricked us so now we’ll have to spend the night on the streets? Took us a while until we discovered the hidden entrance to our apartment, but that’s the fun part in exploring new cities, especially during the night, when you are exhausted after a very long flight! We were so excited that our tiredness did not have the space in our group!

We were getting closer and closer to what life in the mountains was going to be. The next day, on the 16th we did the groceries shopping for the next week and left for the village of Kazbek. The view was amazing! I am deeply impressed by the colors of nature! The mountains are all so dark reddish and the forests so colorful. You can definitely feel the fall! We are at a rural house in an old family from the village. You can smell the fire heating the house…reminds me so much of my childhood spent at my grand-grandparents  in the countryside. Everyone took their task very seriously: cooking team prepares the dinner, technical team gives very clear and helpful instructions regarding the equipment and everyone is preparing the backpack for tomorrow’s first meeting on what climbing is about. Well…getting to know what it’s about for me because is a first; it was a series of firsts.

And here we are – 17th of October first hiking day, trial day – horrible! The pretty steep mountain from one point on is just killing me slowly! I get bored of just walking, hiking…same view, all was not looking so good for me; I am very warm and next second I feel like freezing! Blah! I know I can make it, but the (discomfort) I have is pretty annoying. Maybe I will just stay home tomorrow and leave the ones with experience to hike up to 3600m. But well… when you are a team, a family, you support each other: so thank you very much Tibi and Valeriu for distracting me from my quite negative thoughts and for giving me such good and positive energy! I got to understand during the first day how much a simple gest or word can mean for a person in circumstances like that. Indeed, sharing is caring!

This experience was by far the experience of my life! I lived it and felt it with every single pore of my body. I climbed up to 4200m in Kazbek mountains, I slept in a sleeping bag for the first time, I ate “chicken soup tea”, I had my first toilette with a view (and what a view!!!), I got to know 8 different cultures and the most important I got to meet very open, different and complex people with amazing life stories. They offered me support, they shared their life, their experiences, their difficulties and happiness with me and they even shared their spoon and food with me! For almost 2 weeks I was completely disconnected from the polluted life of the city. I just enjoyed the freedom, the adventure, the people! I could be me without being judged or criticized. Everyone was one with nature, feeling it, breathing it, merging with it. We have all created a solid synergy between us, the mountains, the nature and our dreams!

During this expedition I discovered a new part of me, I pushed my limits, I started to better understand nature and why people love the mountains so much (I’m more like a summery, sea person), I started to appreciate more the simplicity and purity of life and I created a better and stronger connection with myself!

Be motivated, fight for your dreams and share your experiences, inspire people and let yourself get inspired! Be open, dare, challenge yourself! Surround yourself with beautiful people, be thankful for being blessed and take the best from all the worst! Create, live and feel your experiences.

Ana-Maria Cristina Manda (25) was one of the participants in the Black Sea Network Project. With master’s studies in law & political science, security & diplomacy and international business law, Ana-Maria is currently a legal counsel in Zurich.  As a young leader with a high interest for international relations and political science, supported by a solid background in international law, she wants to be part of the change, having the willingness to continue her job and her involvement in developing and helping the countries from the Black Sea Region.

BSN_2015_420BSN_2015_090BSN_2015_041

Black Sea Network – A Moldavian Story

How I climbed my first mountain


Dear Adventure Diplomacy team, together with you I have spent a hell of a week in Georgia. After my treatment against multi drug resistant Tuberculosis this is probably the toughest challenge I was put up against and I thank you for that!

Chapter 1. The simple things

I thank you, because on journeys like this (1) you learn to appreciate at a whole new level the world around you, the people that surround you and the simple things. The comfort and the wonders of the civilized world we live in, when you flip a switch and there is light, you turn the socket and there is hot water. For the most part, there is a doctor we can go to and get treated in case of almost any health problem. You pick up your phone and you can call your loved ones or get in the car and go visit them. These are all wonderful, but unless they are taken from us, we forget to appreciate them. But also (2) you learn that we are stronger than we think, as individuals, as humans, as nations but most of all as a global community. A global community of peace and collaboration.  

Not everybody can be a climber, but I am certain everybody can try! Looking at movies and documentaries of climbers around the world I always imagined you need some sort of superpowers to do that. Looks like all you need is the courage to try it. Ok, the courage and preferably a not so short list of equipment.

Our goal was tough and climbing up, the headaches, the nausea, the fatigue and just the long hours of walking in the cold…honestly made me think about returning back to warm and comfort many times. It is painful to climb a mountain. But this journey wasn’t just about me. It was about the ones in front of you and the ones in the back, the support team and most of all the idea that our photo with the flags on top of the mountain will become a message of peace and help stop the ongoing conflicts in our homelands and we’ll have a chance to make people wonder: is any territory or belief worth the tears of our mothers and the lives of their sons – our brothers, our dads and most all the lives of our children?! Is it really?!

Chapter 2. One spork, twelve people.

We started this expedition as individuals but we summited as a team. Here in Moldavia, where I live, on both sides of the Nistru river, we have quite diverse people. Since childhood most of us already speak 2-3 languages, Russian, Romanian, Gagauz, now more often English and a few other languages. The diversity however is not an obstacle, it is an opportunity. Just like in our expedition, I wish for my country, that we all become a team. Russian speaking, Romanian speaking, Gagauz speaking, or English speaking… because if we do, we sure can climb the steepest ‘mountains’…

We did not bring a lot of cutlery with us on the mountain. Frankly, I forgot to take any. But because at least one of us took a spork we could all eat that chicken soup and THAT is what a team is for. As well, we did not bring many pots either.. so we used the same one for all courses and our ginger tea tasted like chicken soup sometimes, but that is part of the charm and made a good story to share.

Chapter 3. Basic instincts.

To the expedition I came prepared and I was sure I can physically face the challenge. The first day we went for a test hike up to 2.400 m and I did great, I was even encouraging others. Ana was not too far from me so I was sharing the excitement and the enthusiasm with her and I would like to think that keeping her talking she had less time to think about how tiring the long hike is. I am quite sure I was also showing off by jumping around on rocks and wasting energy while this was a quite strenuous hike. The second day we had to reach to base camp at 3.600 m. We started very early and I only had 2 hours of sleep. After some 5-6 hours of hiking up, a few kilometers before the hut I really started to feel the effects of the altitude on me. Even after Luci, our Duracell and forever calm organizer, took my backpack, it was so hard to walk with the nausea and fatigue and the constant yawning because of the lack of the oxygen and all I wanted to do is lay under a rock and sleep. But Ana was in front of me… and she did not lose any opportunity to encourage me, give me water, make me laugh and just keep me going. Our roles inverted. I did make it to the base camp, but thanks to her, to Luci, to the team.

I got better the day after, my heart rate was over a hundred beats per minute and I stopped yawning at every other step. Adi, our super informed and passionate organizer, gave me an aspirin and that helped too. Ultimately I felt quite good climbing to the plateau the fourth day at over 4.000 m. As we got back we had to decide who will be in the support team and who will go up, based on previous experience, fitness and our own will. I was to go up and although I had most of the necessary equipment, it wasn’t quite fancy. So, this time Olesya who is also from Moldavia and was still dealing with the mountain sickness and would’ve been in the support team at the hut, asks me if my gloves are warm enough, she gave me hers and also some hand and feet warmers. It was her equipment, but this kind of care for another person, a stranger, for a greater purpose is one of the best things in humanity that I know of. In the end we were all sharing what we had extra and were wearing each other’s jackets and sleeping in somebody else’s sleeping bag… which not only was extremely efficient but it proved to be very heartwarming and uplifting to see all this generosity and appreciation all around. That is an environment I want to live in.

I wish I could take all my compatriots on an expedition to Kazbek.

Chapter 4. 5.033 m or the aftermath.

In the night before the summit, Tibi, our resourceful and very diplomatic organizer, gave us a full training on the use of the crampons, the ice ax and a shock course on how to act in case of emergency. It was very well received as it prepared us for the things that luckily did not happen. Every few kilometers you see a boulder with a commemorative plaque or cross on it. Not a very pleasant site, but being near people that know what they are doing, surely helps.

We started around 4 am, it was pitch black and cold. Some long dark hours with sounds of heavy breathing and the rock avalanches and we reached the plateau, from now on it was only snow and ice. I looked back, the sun was rising, it was mesmerizing. Some even longer hours on the ever white trail and we were closing with small steps to the last slope. I could barely make any more steps. It became less of a physical challenge and more of a psychological challenge. Deep breaths of cold air and very small steps. I could not stop thinking how much Olesya would’ve wanted to be there with us and that thought made me keep walking.

As we were getting closer, the enthusiasm in the others, the thought of summiting, was settling in and the adrenaline kicked. As I heard the first ones exclaiming as they reached the top I felt like running the last steps! All pain was gone, all tiredness was gone and all that was left were my eyes gazing into the endless landscape of mountain peaks, scattered with snow and ice and embraced in clouds. If nobody would’ve spoke to me, I would’ve thought I was dreaming. That view will remain tattooed in my memory for a long time. We only spent 5 or 10 minutes on the summit, but the satisfaction got is forever.

We took the photo with all our countries’ flags, it was amazing and before leaving I took a deep breath… and it felt absolutely awesome to breathe at over 5.000 m with the same lungs I have went through all the 2 years of Tuberculosis treatment. You always think that the disease might come back, but in moments like this, you realize just how strong we are, as a global community, as nations, as humans, as individuals. You realize that no mountain is too high and no dream is to big. I dream of a world where no territory or belief is worth more than a human life. This dream is the mountain I invite you all to climb.

Valeriu is a visionary, photographer, wine enthusiast and CEO of the first professional wine blog in Moldova. Valeriu is also involved in volunteer work with Rotaract Moldavia and several health foundations. He is looking forward to be a piece of the solution in an international network of understanding and collaboration. No mountain is too high and no dream too big!

Valeriu Istrate (26) was one if the participants in the Black Sea Network Project. Valeriu is a visionary, photographer, wine enthusiast and CEO of the first professional wine blog in Moldova. Valeriu is also involved in volunteer work with Rotaract Moldavia and several health foundations. He is looking forward to be a piece of the solution in an international network of understanding and collaboration. No mountain is too high and no dream too big!

Black Sea Network – An Ukrainian Story

Usually, I am happy and joyful person, but last year was very difficult for my country (Ukraine) and for me as well: I felt the heaviness of life and it was more and more difficult to find a reason to be happy. I was tired of my work, my family, friends, seemed that I was tired of life, everything became a routine for me. Everything was fine, but it didn’t bring me joy , so I decided that I need to go somewhere totally new to refresh my mind.

I needed something totally different from my life and the activities that I used to do. And when I saw the announcement about a team-building and leadership expedition for representatives from Black Sea Region in the Georgian mountains I realized that it is exactly that I needed. I wrote the application and when I got the answer that I’m accepted I was already jumping with joy and realized that my adventure is about to start. I was a bit scared of this trip, because I never did such a thing before (I even barely know all those equipment like crampons, ice ax or harness), but I knew that for my personal growth I need to go out of my comfort zone. And I was ready for the challenge!

ON THE PATH

There is a saying of Andy Rooney, American radio and television writer : “Everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the happiness and growth occurs while you’re climbing it.” It was exactly what happened with me during those days.

So, I met with 11 strangers in Tbilisi and we immediately started to work on the preparation for the expedition: buying local sim-cards, food, equipment, arranging transport and so on. It was a very pleasant rush, but we barely had time to talk to each other and learn something about each other. At the end of the second day I still couldn’t remember all names. But I already felt the team spirit, we were like one organism. Everybody cared about some duties that were important for the entire team.

I was a chief of the cooking department and really enjoyed my duties. And I am very thankful for all who helped me in this task. I did what I do best and in the things that I had no clue about (like equipment), I totally relied on others. It was a great lesson of responsibility and trust.

When we came from Tbilisi to the Stepantsminda village it was decided to take an adaptation hike to the Gergeti Trinity Church. It was a bit difficult but it was possible, so I was feeling quite optimistic about ascending to the mountain. But when we started to climb the mountain next day, frankly speaking, I was thinking that it is my first and last real mountain experience and I would never do it again. It was only the beginning of the path and I really didn’t know how far we were going. So I decided just go step by step believing that each step will bring me more and more strength and I have enough internal resources to do it until the end. It just turned into meditation, I was walking, walking and walking and suddenly I realized I can do it: I found my pace, my breath synchronized with the steps and I even started to notice the beauty of the mountains. So I got a second lesson, that I’m much stronger than I think and only consistent actions will bring results.

The rest of the journey was also difficult but I really started to enjoy it. There were so many touching moments of caring about each other, sharing food, socks, equipment, time, attention, everything that we had. We learned to understand each other without words, I didn’t need to ask for something, I received necessary things even before realizing that I need them. Even it was -20 sometimes at night outside, I felt so good and warm.

DAY X

We were 12, but not everybody was supposed to climb the summit. And the last word about that belonged to those who were the most experienced. As for me, I really didn’t know anymore what I would be able to do. And I didn’t even know what I preferred: to go or stay as a support team. Of course, getting to the summit sounded very exiting, but it demanded more efforts from me and I didn’t know if I had enough power to do it. So I decided to totally rely on the core team and their recommendation to not go there. So I just accepted everything as it was. But very interesting things happens in the night, when I was making early breakfast (3 am) and tea (ginger tea) for the summit team. I didn’t feel sad or disappointed as I probably should have, I was so excited like I was going there. And I was so happy to see our guys when finally they came back, I really felt like I did. I knew that they felt that they had reach a summit for us also. We were one and I feel that we still are, even though we have a Black Sea and 1000 km between us.

SUMMIT

When I came back everybody was interested if I climbed the summit. This is what I told them: de jure I didn’t, I didn’t get to the top of Kazbegi mountain, but de facto, I really did, I did climb my personal summit. The summit of fear and inner limitations and I found there a real treasure: inner strength, love, joy and happiness. I feel so alive now and ready for a new challenges!

Nadiya Pashkova (35) was one if the participants in the Black Sea Network Project. After graduating a master’s course in business administration, Nadiya became involved with the DRO “Committee of voters of Ukraine”, where she currently works as program director and international relations coordinator. She believes that being part of the project will help her broaden her boundaries, refresh her mind, get new ideas for her personal life and work, real friends and partners and one of the most important things that she currently lacks: the ability to dream.

BSN_2015_385Black Sea Network Project - Muntii Caucaz (1)Black Sea Network Project - Muntii Caucaz (8)