700 Volunteers To Work for Red Cross in Asia

People from all over the country, with a wide range of skills and trades, have applied to the Irish Red Cross to work with our humanitarian organisation in Thailand, Indonesia or Sri Lanka.

Ms Margaret Conway, Deputy Secretary General, Irish Red Cross said the generosity of the Irish was not limited to financial donations and all applications would be processed and the skills would be matched to meet the requirements in Asia.

“The applications we have received have not been limited to the medical profession. While doctors and nurses made themselves available to travel to Asia, we also have applications from farmers, engineers, builders, carpenters, electricians and plumbers. Indeed we have received an application from a group of divers in Drogheda, Co Louth, who indicated that they would travel to Asia to help,” Ms Conway explained.

“Since the Tsunami on St Stephen’s Day, we have been working with our many volunteers in the countries affected. Their skills are enhanced by extensive know of the disaster area. The Secretary General of the Irish Red Cross is currently on a fact finding mission with the Minister for Foreign Affairs in Asia. She is identifying what skills required and how best the €10 million donated by Irish people can be spent. This will be of great help to our colleagues working on the relief and recovery plans,” she said.

Ms Conway said before volunteers are assigned to humanitarian projects, they receive a full medical bill of health with vaccination coverage and advice.

“We want to make sure that the volunteers are fully prepared for the trauma of working in unique conditions where they are dealing with destitution, death and disease. Knowledge of cultural sensitivities is also very important,” she explained.

Up to 1.5 million children have been affected by the Tsunami. Many of these children have been orphaned or separated from their families and are in critical need of basic care and support.

The Red Cross has established a number of Mobile Family Links teams in Southern Asia to help these children find their family members.

“The Mobile Family Links teams help children who are on their own and help then to be reunited with their families. The Red Cross co ordinate their activities with other agencies to protect these vulnerable children from child abduction and trafficking,” Ms Conway said.

“The latest reports indicate that, thankfully, the majority of children who have been left orphaned in Sri Lanka, have been taken in and looked after by other family members. On-going assessments are being carried out by the Mobile Family Links teams in the other countries,” she said.

Thanks to generosity of Irish people, almost €10 million has been donated to the Irish Red Cross. Individuals and companies throughout Ireland have organised fundraising events and collections to make these donations and the funds raised will be invested in helping millions of people in South Asia to rebuild their lives.