Far North District Council civil defence co-ordinator (and Kaikohe Fire Brigade CFO) Bill Hutchinson would have been pleased to see a few more participants in the Youth in Emergency Services programme that is now under way in Kaikohe, but he's not complaining.
Twelve teenagers, aged 16 to 18, began theprogramme and they're all still there, Mr Hutchinson saying yesterday that he was impressed with the calibre of his proteges.
They included 16-year-old Seshat Edmonds, who had something of a head-start on the others.
She began compiling her volunteer CV as a 12-year-old, when she (and her sister) signed up with the Kawakawa Fire Brigade's cadets. She continued with the Kaikohe Brigade when she transferred from Bay of Islands College to Northland College at the age of 15, and joined the brigade proper, as a firefighter recruit, when she became eligible at 16.
"Seshat signed up for the Youth in Emergency Services programme to broaden her knowledge across all the emergency services, and learn some new life skills," Mr Hutchinson said, adding that her career goal was to join the police force.
Seshat and her 11 fellow YES participants are certainly enjoying a variety of experiences. They have already spent time with the Kaikohe Fire Brigade and Coastguard at Opononi; next week it will be St John, then the Red Cross in Kerikeri. It is planned to complete the programme with a graduation dinner.
