Ashraf Uddin

Forest Gate volunteer nominated for BBC awards

Kay Atwal, Chief Reporter Wednesday, August 15, 2012
1:00 PM

A volunteer for St John Ambulance has been nominated for a BBC 999 award for his work and spreading the word at school.

Ashraf Uddin, from Forest Gate, is a member of the Rainham and South Hornchurch Division of St John Ambulance and has been a member of the charity for 13 years.

The full-time teacher was recently awarded the Order of St John. Now he has ben nominated for a BBC 999 Award for his voluntary work and his role in teaching First Aid in schools to inspire the next generation in learning life saving First Aid skills.

Ashraf has been shortlisted for the Local Hero award in this year’s BBC 999 Awards. The BBC filmed him in action and found out about the impact he makes and his motivations.

He was also captured on film teaching first aid in school on a voluntary basis to encourage young people to learn first aid skills. The film and interview focused around Ashraf’s work with young people and his work in the local community.

He said: “I joined St John Ambulance 13 years ago for two main reasons: One to help my local community and to learn Advanced First Aid Skills. But I feel honoured to have been nominated for this award and thank the BBC for recognising the hard work of the Emergency services and volunteers.

I use the life saving skills I’ve gained through St John Ambulance to teach young people because I want everyone to have the chance to help others. Learning just a few skills can mean the difference between life and death.

My community is so important to me, and I hope that I can continue to offer my knowledge and advice to young people who are looking for the opportunity to be the difference.”

The awards programme, which aims to acknowledge the heroic acts that the officers and volunteers of the emergency services perform on a daily basis, will be shown on BBC One on August 16.

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