Charities We Support

First Aid for Life and Onlinefirstaid.com support many incredible charities and here are some that are particularly close to our hearts.

Yellowmen

The Yellowmen is a charity set up by Eddie McCall. He and a small group of volunteers have been travelling to West Pokot (a remote region in the Kenyan mountains) for the last 25 years.  Over this time, Eddie and his team have accomplished incredible things!

The Yellowmen team has worked closely with the local community. Together, they built multiple health clinics and supported numerous schools. They also constructed a maternity unit to improve healthcare access. Additionally, they helped a group of women with HIV learn sustainable farming techniques. The team also established a refuge for teenage girls escaping FGM. To further support the community, they installed clean water supplies. They provided schools and the maternity unit with treadle sewing machines. They also taught skills and supplied materials to make washable sanitary towels. As a result, girls’ school attendance has dramatically improved. Traveling to West Pokot 2 or 3 times a year to further support and encourage the community and help.

 

Emma’s Volunteering with Yellowmen

In February 2025, Emma travelled out as one of 4 volunteers to help with Yellowmen project in West Pokot. She was there for a month. Whilst there, Emma trained ‘ambulance drivers’ in basic first aid. These men are responsible for ferrying people down dirt tracks. From remote villages to the clinics and maternity hospital and also to hospitals many hours away. Additionally Emma took the first AED for the whole region (kindly donated by Qualsafe). Along with medical supplies (glucometers, sphygmomanometers, thermometers, pulse oximeters, stethoscopes) for the clinics and maternity unit (kindly donated by Avro and Jax First Aid Supplies). Furthermore, she brought many other incredibly generous donations from the First Aid for Life team of trainers and their friends.

Supporting Remote Healthcare in Challenging Conditions

The clinics are staffed by qualified nurses and one doctor, however they have very little equipment, drugs and medical supplies. Moreover neither the clinics or the maternity unit have electricity or a piped water supply. To make things more challanging the clinics are incredibly remote, predominantly situated up in the mountains and support the local, rural communities.  During her stay Emma was able to assist in the antenatal, post natal and vaccination clinics and learned so much from her time there.  The healthcare staff Emma was working with were some of the most skillful, resourceful and hardworking she has ever been priviledged to work alongside. Emma can’t thank them and the wonderful people of West Pokot sufficiently for their incredible welcome and all the support they gave her during her time with them.

In addition, Emma took soap (hard to get out there) and many pairs of knickers so the girls and ladies can use the washable sanitary protection. She also took a training kit to leave there and trained some of the nurses to deliver further training to teachers and new staff.  Emma had multiple first aid kits donated by Jax First Aid Supplies and Qualsafe that she gave to the ambulance drivers and clinics. She also visited villages by moped to give relevant community first aid training to the semi-nomadic farmers in their villages along with their community leaders.

 

Helping in Kibera

Located in Nairobi, Kenya, Kibera is the largest informal settlement in Africa. Living conditions there are extremely challenging. It’s overcrowded with limited access to basic necessities. Most residents live in small, makeshift homes constructed from corrugated iron sheets, mud, and wood, often lacking proper ventilation and insulation. Additionally, access to clean water, sanitation, and electricity is severely limited, with many relying on communal water points, shared pit latrines and open sewers. Waste management is poor, leading to unsanitary conditions and health risks. Despite these hardships, Kibera is a vibrant community with a strong sense of resilience, where residents work together to improve their livelihoods and advocate for better infrastructure and services.

During her visit Emma was horrified at the squallor in which over two million people are currently living! Determined to help, she is hoping to support a new charity that will be offering free first aid support to residents of Kibera. Not only will she be offering those administering the first aid training, but she is also trying to work out the logistics of sending them dressings and other healthcare supplies.

Donald’s Story

Whilst in Kibera, Emma met Donald and his amazing teacher, Mercy! Now nearly five years old, Donald lives in the midst of the Kibera slum – the largest in Africa – was abandoned by his mother at just seven months old because he was unable to use his legs.  He has never been able to work and currently scoots around on the little red chair you can see in the picture, or has to be carried. As he grows older, this will become even harder and it would be almost impossible to cope in a wheelchair living in the slum with its open sewers.

Thankfully, Donald was adopted by his teacher, Mercy, but he urgently needs medical support to have a chance of walking. So far, Emma has trawled the internet and found a few places and he and his teacher are amazing at following all leads.

 

How Can You Help?

Do you know an NGO or charity in Nairobi that could provide Donald with callipers and physiotherapy? Alternatively, do you have any ideas on how else we can support him? Any help or suggestions would be immensely appreciated.

 

Double Mercy Rescue Centre Kibera

P.O.Box 22044 – 00523
Nairobi,
Email: doublemercy80@gmail.com

Contact Person:
Mercy Joan- Founder
+254725447245

Or

Ebby Susan Makungu
Co-Founder,
+254790888042

 

Who we are

Double Mercy Rescue Centre is a community-based organization located at the heart of Kibera in Katwekera Village that offers safe spaces for children within the slums of Kibera and benefits over 50 children from 3 months to 7 years who are made up of;

• Daycare children (3months to 2 years).
• Playgroup (2 yrs to 3 years).
• Pre-Primary 1 and 2 ( 3 years to 7 years).

 

History

We opened Double Mercy Rescue Centre after an encounter with a young teenage mother in December 2015 by the name Mary who after giving birth had a difficult
time going back to school as she could not find a safe place to leave her child. We took the initiative to take care of her child throughout the day to enable her to go back to school and complete her education. With the need for safe houses for children to play and spend their day when their parents were out either in school or doing casual work. We officially registered Double Mercy Rescue Centre as a Community
Based Organization in 2017.

Children from the slums benefiting from the program. The Centre has since then provided refuge to the street, abandoned, orphaned, and Children due to early teenage pregnancies. This has enabled most young mothers to go back to school and complete their education.

In addition to this, it has enabled women within the slums to go about their normal activities knowing that their
children are safe. The children are monitored during the day and fed a two-course meal. They are given family
experience with our volunteers who are passionate about children and helping the community.

 

Our programs

We offer the following;

• We offer refuge to abandoned children, street families, and children due to early teenage pregnancies.
• Feeding program and nutrition for kids.
• Mentorship and training of Adolescent girls (Young mothers) and provision of essential needs e.g sanitary pads.
• Education – we support young and teen mothers to go back to school and finish their education after giving birth.
• Rescue and Rehabilitation: We rescue children and women facing gender based violence within the slums and rehabilitate them using local authority through the children and gender office.

Vision

Provide and promote safe spaces that are non-profit, high quality, affordable, and accessible early learning and childcare programs to meet the needs of children and families around the slums of Kibera where children can be taken care of while their parents are at work or school.

 

Mission

To provide a safe, developmentally, inclusive environment for toddlers, preschool, and school-age children.

Values

• Quality Care and Trust: There is a need for
  quality care that parents can trust within the slums of Kibera. At Double Mercy Rescue Centre we will continue in our efforts to ensure and continuously improve our services to meet the needs of the children and families we serve.
• Lifelong Learning: We believe that we all share a responsibility to support and nurture the children’s and our own natural desire to be lifelong learners.
• Partnership: Respectful relationships are very important and one which our organization operates. We believe that the quality of care we provide is measured by the quality of relationships we have with children, families, employees, school boards, funders, and legislators. We are committed to ensuring these relationships are respectful; warm and caring; honest and open; fair and equitable.

 

Objectives

• To provide a safe, secure environment for vulnerable children in the slums in which basic needs are met (nutrition, rest, etc.)
• To provide optimum opportunity for children to engage in their environment for them to grow and flourish.
• We offer children with diverse needs; specialized services i.e. physiotherapy, speech, language, etc.
• To work in partnership with parents and support them in meeting the needs of their children.
• To include future program changes that would benefit young children and their families.
• To support the education needs of orphaned, neglected, and destitute children through programs.
• Our focus is on developing an enriched experience for the children. We are open to questions and suggestions regarding all our programs.

Conclusion

There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children. We believe that children have a right to grow in serene environments where they can fully develop their potential to be the best they can be. Safety and security don’t just happen, they are the result of collective consensus and public investment. We owe our children, the most vulnerable citizens in our society, a life free of violence and fear. We believe that through your support we can put a smile on a child’s face.

---

 

Stay safe

Stay Safe for Older People was founded by Emma Hammett RGN (First Aid for Life) and Carolyn Cripps OBE (Fit for Safety) in partnership with RoSPA, AGE UK and the Trading Standards Scams and Fraud team. It is a self-funded social initiative to help older people and those who care for them.

There is currently a wealth of invaluable information available in discreet locations across the web and it can be difficult to find exactly what you are looking for. Stay Safe for Older People has brought advice and resources from key organisations and experts together in one site to make it much easier for older people and those who care for them to access this vital information when they need it.

Stay Safe for Older People (www.staysafe.support) is a free information and resource website signposting older people and their family, friends and carers, to the wealth of expert advice and support under one umbrella site. The contents of this continually updated site aiming to help older people stay safe, remain healthy and independent and prevent avoidable hospital admissions resulting from accidents in the home environment.

Ickle Pickles

Ickle Pickles are the smallest and sickest babies who need intensive care in Neonatal Units. Whether born too soon or with an illness the NHS cares for over 20,000 ickle pickles every year. Advances in Neonatal medicine have realised incredible improvements in survival rates. In 1975, half of all babies born weighing less than 1.5kg (3.3 lbs) died. Compare that to today where over 90% of premature babies weighing 800g or more (equivalent to a bag of sugar) survive. Over the same period the pressures on Neonatal care have spiralled. Due mainly to the expanding population of the UK and an increase in multiple births as fertility treatment has improved.

With NHS budgets being continually squeezed there is a real and tangible need for public donation and support for neonatal care. The Ickle Pickle Partnership turns gifts and donations from generous people into specialised equipment. Such as incubators and ventilators to help Neonatal units provide incredible levels of care for Ickle Pickles. Besides our own appeals, we enable parents and families to run their own localised appeals. That are for the specific Neonatal unit that helped their ickle pickle – together we can make a big difference.

---

RNLI

They do a fantastic job and I can’t support them enough

---

Battersea Dogs and Cats Home 

For the amazing work they do to help our pets. At Battersea we offer our love and expert care to dogs and cats. Who need us by rescuing, rehabilitating and rehoming animals at our centres. By sharing our knowledge and resources with rescue organisations around the world. We do this because we want to help every dog and cat, everywhere.  

---

London’s Air Ambulance

Thank you for all you do!

 

---

 

TheNational Childbirth Trust

(NCT) does a fabulous job and I run numerous courses with them and for them. Huge thanks to all of the incredible volunteers that make everything happen.

---

Biggleswade Ivel Rotary Club – Mosquito Nets Project

This is a small project that is making a big difference. My brother is actively involved in taking the mosquito nets to the people. Biggleswade Ivel Rotary Club has supported St Andrews’ Clinics. With money for training of heath care workers, equipment, motorcycles, inoculations etc…

Biggleswade Ivel Rotary Club has supported St Andrews’ Clinics with money for training of heath care workers, equipment, motorcycles, inoculations etc…

---

The Klevis Kola Foundation

The Klevis Kola Foundation is a community organisation with members from all over London. Klevis Kola supports refugee and asylum-seeking families and helps them to play their full part in the community.

Arriving as a refugee in the UK can be a terrifying and disempowering experience. Difficulties with language, accessing services and overcoming prejudice are ever-present. Klevis Kola exists to help refugees overcome those challenges. To help them rebuild their lives at the centre of the community. Klevis Kola works closely with a number of organisations in south London. To deliver services for refugees and asylum seekers. Projects include after school and youth clubs, trips and holidays, a summer scheme, advocacy work, and a football club. Our main partners are Student Action for Refugees at St George’s, University of London.

Klevis Kola exists to help refugees overcome those challenges, and to help them rebuild their lives at the centre of the community. Klevis Kola works closely with a number of organisations in south London, delivering services for refugees and asylum seekers. Projects include after school and youth clubs, trips and holidays, a summer scheme, advocacy work, and a football club. Our main partners are Student Action for Refugees at St George’s, University of London.

---

Burma Dental Volunteers

An amazing charity. Encourging dentists to volunteer short periods of time to provide dentistry to the poor and disadvantaged in Burma. In particular around Lake Inle.

There is no access to dentistry and oral neglect is rife. Burmadent aim to educate and treat the 200,000 people living on the Lake.