Volunteer event medic Kaden Saywell has been part of the Wellington Free Ambulance team since December 2017. PHOTO/SUPPLIED

ELI HILL

eli.hill@age.co.nz

Wairarapa’s Kaden Saywell’s volunteering at Wellington Free has taken him right across the Greater Wellington region to provide medical help at events from the CubaDupa festival to Wings over Wairarapa.

Saywell is one of Wellington Free’s volunteer event medics and has been part of the team since December 2017.

Event medics are trained first responders, and cover a variety of sporting events, community fairs and live concerts.

They also train community groups in CPR and are able to look after people until frontline emergency ambulances arrive

“Volunteering allows me to help people and that’s something that is extremely gratifying,” Saywell says.

“The feelings of gratitude from those in need are hard to beat. Knowing you’ve made a difference in someone’s life, no matter how big or small is something rather special and I’m stoked to be able to have found a profession which allows me to do so much, every time I put my uniform on,” he said.

For Saywell, being a volunteer means there’s flexibility to put in the time that his life allows.

“I currently study fulltime, hold a couple of part-time jobs, do what I want for my health and well-being, and still find time to put aside for volunteering,” he said.

Some of Saywell’s highlights include the ANZAC Day Dawn Service in Wellington, covering multiple international sporting games and meeting some like-minded people who give tremendous amounts of their time to the community.

“I believe it’s a real privilege putting on the green uniform and representing the organisation out in the community.”

People interested in joining Saywell in the event medic team can find more information at the Wellington Free Ambulance website: wfa.org.nz/volunteer