HE IS THE proud member of an organisation which provides first aid to the country, is ready to assist the local emergency services in the event of a national disaster, and teaches first-aid techniques to private and public institutions.
However, though his organisation plays a significant role in the country’s landscape, he feels as though it is dying.
But according to Anthony Mayers, the St John Ambulance Association (Barbados) will not “fall” once he is around because he is ready to fight “to keep the association above the water”.
The 39-year-old Mayers said the association was important to the Barbadian society because it basically “deals with mankind.” He said although he had a number of responsibilities in the voluntary, uniformed organisation, his “focus is on the youth arm of the brigade because the youths are the future”.
“As an older person among the youth, I know that the youth look up to adults. If you are not a disciplined person in your attitude and your characteristics, the youth will disrespect you. I realise that you have to be vigilant and monitor how you deal with young people. And it is not all about discipline. You also teach the youth how to help themselves,” he explained.
“In the association, we teach [the youth] how to cook, do craft…we help them with beach training, map reading, we go on hikes, and of course we teach them first aid. We try to change our agenda regularly because we know you have the keep young people interested. We can’t teach them something for six months, because they will get tired and their minds will wander,” said Mayers, who is also a male nurse at Bayview Hospital.
However, the former member of the Barbados Red Cross society and the Barbados Defence Force (BDF) noted that it was “very hard to get the young people to join the Bay Street association”.
“The young people don’t see the association as somewhere to come and spend time while learning to do things to help them in the future. The young people want to go fêteing and partying. They don’t care anything about building their self-esteem.
“I am currently trying to change this mentality of the youth. I am trying to show them that they are more than the negative things that the older generation sometimes says about them. I am really working hard to get the young people into the brigade,” said Mayers, who has been a member of the association for six years.
The owner of Barbados Orthopedics of the Caribbean also lamented that “St John’s members don’t look at money for our work, we provide a free service to the citizens of Barbados”.
“Nowadays, people don’t think about charity, they talk about payment for everything. But…the more you give, the more you receive. If I give my time, I know that I am going to be blessed in some other way or form.”
In the interim, the brigade is seeking to redevelop the island’s three divisions: the northern one in St Peter, the southern in St George, and the central in St Michael.
“We are looking for members for all of these divisions. If the country was to be faced with a disaster tomorrow, the St John Ambulance Association would not be able to provide the manpower to assist Government,” he declared.
