March 18th, 2024Woman of year gong for Kyneton’s Grace

Kyneton’s Grace Larson, founder of The Sisterhood Project, has recently been named this year’s AgriFutures Victorian Rural Woman of the Year.

Grace is a paediatric nurse who’s making first aid training more accessible for rural and regional families.

The Sisterhood Project was established after Grace and her sister Skye Larson recognised the need for affordable first aid training in rural and remote areas.

Grace, a nurse turned health-care educator, observed a discrepancy in access to baby and child first aid courses, driving her mission to ensure equal opportunity for all to acquire life-saving skills.

The project’s aim is to curb higher child mortality rates in rural Australia by empowering parents and carers to know how to act in an emergency.

The Sisterhood Project is partnering with First Aid providers to offer free infant and Child First Aid training to parents and carers that can’t otherwise afford it. A main aim is to help prevent and respiratory disease and save lives.

“First Aid training has been shown time and again to have a significant impact on the outcomes of adults and children that suffer respiratory disease as a result of an accident, injury or a cardiac arrest,” Grace and Skye say on their website.

“With courses costing anywhere from $90-$150, for some parents it could mean going without groceries or rent for the week.

“For others, they simply do not have access to their finances or the freedom to choose how that money is spent.

“By providing free Infant and Child First Aid courses to vulnerable and low income mothers we are empowering them to know what to do in an emergency.

“This knowledge can significantly improve infant and child survival rates from respiratory disease and save lives.”