new zealand red cross
issue 2/2012 In this issue: Youth on the move red cross and the square affair your annual appeal photos
EARLY ACTION FOR DISASTERS – A MUST New Zealand Red Cross chief executive says, “it is an honour to host such a dignitary here in New Zealand. Mr Geleta is garnering insight and a deeper understanding of the Pacific and the unique challenges that Pacific national societies face.”
¡ The Secretary General of International Federation of Red Cross Red Crescent societies Bekele Geleta gives an address on early action for disasters.
In 2011 we witnessed the Christchurch earthquakes, the worst floods in living memory in Australia, and the natural disasters in Japan. These events have ensured that disaster preparedness is in the forefront of many people’s minds. The Secretary General of International Federation of Red Cross Red Crescent Societies, Bekele Geleta visited Wellington to reiterate how important early warnings and disaster preparedness is. With 34 per cent of the world’s natural disasters occurring in the Asia Pacific region in 2011 Geleta’s talk is more than relevant.
Geleta called for funding to be given to disaster preparedness, stating that, “one dollar spent on disaster preparedness can save four dollars spent responding to a crisis afterwards”. This logic makes disaster preparedness a cost-effective way for governments to protect not only their people, but the infrastructure that national, regional and global economies depend on. Mr Geleta has worked with vulnerable populations for over 20 years giving him extensive experience in policy advice, management and administration in humanitarian organisations. However, it is his firsthand knowledge—having been a political prisoner and refugee himself— that helps him truly understand the people served by the International Red Cross Red Crescent Movement.
red cross trained first aider saves life Less than a month after attending a Red Cross first aid course Jodie Alexander used her newly learnt skills to save a life. On 10 April Jodie and her sister stumbled upon a car accident and immediately attended to the driver who had suffered a cardiac arrest. With her first aid knowledge fresh in her mind Jodie and her sister lifted the man from the car and begun chest compressions. Though bystanders had said they had called an ambulance, after
17 minutes of chest compressions it was evident they had not. A call was made and paramedics arrived within minutes. Jodie is extremely grateful for the first aid training she received. “I was really amazed at the amount of people standing around the car that did not go and assess the situation nor did they act. I am going to be the strongest advocate for first aid training as you never know when you will need to use it and I would like to create awareness.”
Message from Penny Once again 8 May, World Red Cross Day has been and gone. May 8 is the birthday of Henry Dunant, the great Founder of the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement. What a legacy he left to the world and to each and everyone of us. It was having witnessed the shocking aftermath of the famous Battle of Solferino, that he formed the idea of persuading all nations of the world to form relief societies to provide care for wartime wounded. Since that time the Movement, as we call it has continued to grow so that now we have 187 countries in the world with National Societies. One of my predecessors, John Wilson, shared a birthday with Henry, and that was great cause for celebration each year in the Wellington area where John lived. It always seemed fitting because John was a great humanitarian with enormous vision and energy. I was delighted to see that many branches and area councils marked the day in some special way. Some held area forums, some international humanitarian law seminars, and some followed the theme of youth in some way. Overseas events included the launching of the “Parliamentary Friends of Red Cross” by Australian Red Cross. For me it is a wonderful feeling to be part of this big family, all celebrating the same person’s birthday.
Penny Mason
National President
new zealand red cross
JOSHUA HERRON – SECURITY AID WORKER IN SENEGAL the second time, so that’s a positive”. This positive attitude recently helped him to deliver an impromptu speech in a small village in Northern Senegal. As Joshua was assisting the Senegalese Red Cross with food distribution he was invited to speak alongside the chief in front of 300 villagers as a representative of the IFRC.
VOLUNTEEER OF THE YEAR AWARD NOMINEES The nominees for 2011 volunteer of the year award were truly inspirational. Here are their stories... Mary Ann Nouwens
CHRISTCHURCH
Mary Ann has given over quarter of a century to New Zealand Red Cross. In her 26 years at Red Cross Mary Ann has never lost her enthusiasm or willingness to learn within the organisation. Not only is Mary Ann a meals on wheels driver, she provides a nurturing environment for over 40 employees at the Church Corner shop. Each year this shop has had an increase in sales and continues to receive positive feedback. Her work was recognised in 2008 where she was selected to represent New Zealand Red Cross at an event where she met Princess Ann as part of an acknowledgement of all Red Cross volunteers. MAUREEN CRAIGIE AUCKLAND
Maureen has volunteered with New Zealand Red Cross since 1990. Throughout her time here she has been a Greenlane hospital volunteer, meals on wheels volunteer, the Mt. Eden Branch secretary and the Mt. Eden Red Cross shop coordinator. She brings an energy to her role that amazes and motivates her volunteers. She is described as a person who leads by example never forgetting the true meaning of volunteering. Maureen is a true ambassador for Red Cross; she wears her heart on her sleeves and uses the Red Cross principles in all that she does.
¡ Joshua Herron speaking with the village chief
When Joshua received the opportunity to work with the New Zealand Red Cross Delegates Programme he resigned from his job and packed his life into a Macpac.
Joshua’s speech had to be translated from French to Wolof as he spoke. Question and answer time also proved difficult as many of the questions coming from the villagers “would have been hard to answer even in English, let alone in French (to then be translated back to Wolof)” Joshua says. “But with a smile and many hand gestures I think the villagers understood the message of support from the IFRC that I was trying to convey.”
Now assigned in a security position with the International Federation of Red Cross Red Crescent National Societies (IFRC) in Senegal, he is worlds away from his previous job working at the New Zealand High Commission in London. Joshua used to spend his days meeting with and reporting on UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials in the Afghanistan group, the Middle East department, counter-terrorism or migration teams. Now he spends his days working alongside IFRC Africa Security coordinator.
Joshua has always been drawn to the humanitarian field. He saw it as an ideal chance to put his skills to good use while on a personal level be involved in unique and rewarding work experiences. His position in Senegal is until mid-July this year but-Red Cross Red Crescent is in his future as he states: “Now that my life fits into one bag– I certainly feel ready for whatever opportunities may be presented within the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement ¡ Joshua Herron as an intern at the Khmer for the second half Rouge trials in of 2012.” Cambodia
He has recently revised the medical evacuation procedure, reviewed the security of warehouse and storage facilities and reported on the security situation in Mali and Tuareg regions. The role incorporates both analytical and practical hands-on tasks. He describes feeling stretched by his work each day, “in a large part a lot of what I’m doing, I’m doing for the first time. But pretty soon, I’ll be doing them for fiji floods
A state of natural disaster has been extended until the end of the month.
The recent floods in Fiji devastated those in low lying areas for the second time this year. With six fatalities and thousands forced from their homes into makeshift evacuation centres. One of the main priorities is access to clean drinking water. Red Cross is working with the communities day in and day out to ensure that this necessity is met. The scale of the flooding meant that Red Cross also took part in cleaning up and counselling.
LOW RES ¡ Fiji Red Cross personnel prepare relief items for victims of the floods. Photo from Savings Lives Changing Minds.
CORRECTION: Last edition showed Mary Ann Nouwens’ picture net to a story of Ruth Cameron. We apologise for any confusion.
KEY DATES JUNE
NTERNATIONAL DAY OF 4 IINNOCENT CHILDREN VICTIMS OF AGRESSION
5 WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY
ORLD DAY AGAINST 12 W CHILD LABOUR
RED CROSS TAKES PART IN THE SQUARE AFFAIR
who am i? Do you want to nominate someone you think we should all know about? We would love to hear all about them! So please send us a picture and a contact number so we can show them off around the New Zealand Red Cross. Email us at communications@redcross.org.nz Who am I? Ross Cameron, National Marketing and Public Relations Manager.
Who am I? Karla Setter, Programmes Coordinator for the East Coast area.
How long have you been with Red Cross? I’m the new boy! Five months.
How long have you been with Red Cross? Six months.
What do you do? I’m lucky enough to manage an amazing team of people who are experts in social media, journalism, communications and government relations. We respect and trust each other. We really enjoy what we do! They also trust me to represent them on the Red Cross national management team.
What do you do? My role is predominantly focused on organising and marketing primary and secondary school programmes, building brand awareness for Red Cross, events and fundraising.
What is your favourite rainy day activity? Bike riding through the mud and puddles with my five year old! Why New Zealand Red Cross? Because Red Cross is known to have one of the highest performing comms teams in Wellington. It’s an absolute privilege to be a part of it! And… I have worked in the car, energy and oil sectorsbut there is nothing like waking up in the morning knowing that the work you do contributes to helping the vulnerable people both locally and internationally. Biggest Indulgence? Anything that starts with a “c”! Especially coffee, chocolate and cars.
What is your favourite rainy day activity? Watching a movie on the couch with a glass of wine, cheese and crackers. Why New Zealand Red Cross? In my previous role I realised not-forprofit organisations were a perfect fit for me. Although exhausted at times, I leave work happy that my hard work has made someone else’s life a little easier. When I saw my current role advertised it fitted perfectly with my skills. I researched Red Cross and was intrigued with this international organisation that helped people locally and nationally. Biggest Indulgence? Chocolate on a daily basis. I love it!
On Easter weekend a retro/ vintage event was held in Palmerston North. The Square Affair Retro Festival gives people the chance to dress up in all their vintage gear and find some more to-die-for pieces along the way. Red Cross regional retail manager Renee Ramakers knows that this is Red Cross shops element. Once again they had a stall over flowing with lots of vintage, retro and quirky items sourced from all over the country. This year they were allowed an even bigger space which meant all the more goodies for those attending to peruse through. The Square Affair also had exhibitions, entertainment, competitions, parades and workshops. It gave people the opportunity to take high tea, make cupcakes, learn about the art of Dr Seuss, check out wedding dresses of the 50’s and 60’s and much more. A chance for the whole family to remember the good old days. For some, a chance to reminisce and for the younger generation a chance to discover how things were before they had even been born.
water in time for 90th Thanks to a grant from New Zealand Red Cross an elderly couple in rural Christchurch now has fresh drinking water for the first time in more than a year. The timing couldn’t have been better; the filter arrived in time for Jim Curnow’s 90th birthday. The water filter, valued at $4,500+GST, was delivered just ten days after the initial outreach team had visited and found the problem. ORLD BLOOD DONOR DAY 14 W
Until now they had been lugging 10 litre water containers out to their rural home from town. Jim was delighted with the prompt service. He says it was lucky the water came in time for his 90th as he celebrated it with 100 attendees, including 25 children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. Jim enjoyed himself stating, “it was a big occasion and the water was very good”. ORLD REFUGEE DAY 20 W
¡ Lavender Farmer Jim Curnow.
NITED NATIONS PUBLIC 23 USERVICES DAY
2012 annual appeal
¡ Fraser Benson with some children form Mahana School.
¡ The Western Bay of Plenty had a successful Annual Appeal with 567 volunteers involved, including 13 community/school groups.
¡ Students, teachers and office staff of Sacred Heart College in Napier took the challenge to wear red had a red mufti day raising $364.30 for the annual appeal.
¡ Southlands Annual Appeal saw many little country schools holding a “See Red Wear Red day” to raise money. Each child received a rolly dog as a thank you. Amanda Evans service centre administrator for Invercargill said the rolly dogs were a hit, “they all screamed with such excitement, I am surprised they couldn’t be heard from the office they were so loud”.
internal challenge
¡ Two teams from Fryberg High School of Palmerston North took to the streets and shook their buckets around the square.
Did you know we have a facebook page and twitter account dedicated to telling your stories to the public? We are putting out a challenge to get Red Cross people to like our facebook page, follow our tweets and get one friend to like us as well! Will you? FIND US ON FACEBOOK: facebook.com/newzealandredcross
¡ A Nelson rest home turns Red for Red Cross.
¡ Palmerston North programmes coordinator Kandace Humphries granddaughter Sophie, found herself in a box full of puppies and loved every minute of it!
FOLLOW US ON TWITTER: Twitter.com/nzredcross
youth on the move Red Cross Red Crescent Day on 8 May focused on youth engagement, in addition to recognising volunteers and promoting the work that Red Cross Red Crescent societies are doing. Here are three of Red Cross’ active youth volunteers... “I have always admired Red Cross and the good it has done worldwide. Being a small part of that movement is exciting.“ Meet Jazmine Maqueda, the ¡ Jazmine Maqueda President of UC (bottom left) with fellow Red, a student UC Red members. society at the University of Canterbury. The creation of UC Red stemmed from a developing leaders seminar where guest speaker Douglas Clarke spoke of the prevalent lack of youth involvement in New Zealand Red Cross. It was decided that a university group would help expose Red Cross to the students and increase their youth reach. Though this is only their first year on campus they have hit the ground running: organising first aid trainings on campus at a discounted rate for tertiary students, hosting the Save A Mate programme as well as manning monthly stalls at the university market to sell retail from the local Red Cross shop with the proceeds returning to Red Cross stores. When discussing the importance of youth in Red Cross Jazmine believes youth involvement is invaluable, “youth presence in New Zealand Red Cross benefits the organisation by creating a diverse mind set. Youth have a unique input and it is important for them to be involved because after all, they are the leaders of the future”.
“I have a lot of respect for those who are out there supporting New Zealand Red Cross, who work tirelessly for countless hours to strengthen our society and ultimately make our country and the world a better place.”
“It is vital that youth are seen to be a presence in Red Cross. Young people have an immense amount of energy and passion to give, that I believe if harnessed, can move the most impossible mountains.”
Meet Mat Darling, the Youth Representative to National Board and chair of the National Youth Panel.
Meet Nurain Janah, the president of the Red Cross Student Network at Auckland University and National Youth Panel member.
The national board acts as an advisory group to the society on youth engagement, advocate for youth throughout our society and vulnerable youth in general. On top of this Mat is involved in the Dunedin disaster welfare support team, first aid team, facilitating the youth emergency preparedness programme and helps out at a branch level. “Red Cross is an amazing organisation, with fundamental principles similar to my own. We are out helping the most vulnerable in times of need, be it locally, nationally or internationally. It is really sobering to experience this first hand, but also to see what a difference we make in people’s lives.” Mat believes that it is youth volunteers that help make Red Cross such a dynamic organisation. He believes it is important for young people to be seen out and about for Red Cross as too often media is dominated with troubled youths, which is not an accurate representation of all young New Zealanders.
Nurian quickly jumped to the challenge of re-launching the university’s Red Cross group and is proud to announce they now have a member base of 150 enthusiastic young people. Nurain is busy organising an Auckland regional conference where the youth involved in Red Cross can meet and discuss issues and upcoming projects. She is also coordinating a pop-up Red Cross opshop on campus as well as setting up a refugee-style camp on campus to raise awareness as a potential fundraiser. When asked what her favourite part of Red Cross is Nurain is quick to explain the sense of unity. This was evident at the recent National Youth Forum where Nurain left feeling as though the young people she had never met before were now her best of friends. Moreover, Nurain adds, “I feel that Red Cross has something special in the way that it can open doors for young people to make a tangible difference”.
new zealand red cross helps laos It is estimated that 11,500 people in Laos are suffering from injuries including the loss of limbs as a result of war. Laos is the most heavily bombed country in the history of warfare, with an estimated two tonnes of ordance per capita dropped on the country since the 1970’s. Landmine survivors and conflict casualties make up a significant proportion of people with disabilities in Laos. New Zealand Red Cross first recognised the need for financial help
in Laos donating money to the cause in October 2010. Their latest contribution occurred in October 2011 where they gave money to help International Committee of Red Cross Special Fund for the Disabled Laos project. The 2011 Annual Report on project support from New Zealand Red Cross states that the main focus has been on promoting access to prosthetic and orthotic rehabilitation services through subsidies covering costs such as prosthetic materials as well as food
and transport for disabled persons attending the rehabilitation centres.
¡ Photo taken from 2012 Report on SFD Project
NEW ZEALAND RED CROSS LINK
area round-up manawatu/ wanganui Manawatu/ Wanganui Red Cross would like to acknowledge the hard work of Anne Tweedy. Anne is one of their new volunteers and has spent the last few years working on her small holding and seasonal farm. She now comes in weekly and was integral in putting on the April Red Cross fair whilst giving general support on the front desk. Adrienne Transom describes her as a great new addition to the team.
palmerston north
taupo
Red Cross Palmerston North has been running its annual Christmas Fair for over 20 years now, but this year for the first time, it has collaborated with Destination Manawatu on running a market and fair in April.
The Taupo Red Cross has had a massive sale with 50% of all clothing.
The concept behind this is to provide communities especially those that are struggling with lack of employment opportunities, to find alternative ways to generate income into households. Fitting well with the philosophy of developing resilient and self-reliant communities.
However, they definitely were not complaining, each of them stating they loved the extra crowds, new customers and extra buzz the sale created.
The sale was extremely effective in drawing in a good number of customers keeping the girls at the shop nice and busy.
The April fair gave the Palmerston North Branch a great opportunity to have a pre-sale in preparation for its famous annual book sale coming up on the last weekend of May. Palmerston North Red Cross is planning to grow this market concept into regular events held throughout the year.
balclutha
christchurch
Down in Balclutha they have been very busy with a dedicated number of volunteers including 100 drivers for the meals on wheels service.
wellington
Christchurch has received its latest donation. Evolve New Zealand’s Louise and Tim Laing have presented Canterbury Area Manager Carol Ball with a cheque for $68,000 to go towards the recovery of Christchurch. The unique charm created by Evolve New Zealand ‘Aotearoa’s heart’ which symbolises compassion, strength, hope and unconditional love following the Christchurch Earthquakes.
Japanese exchange students from Wellington East Girls School have been fundraising hard, raising money for the Japanese Earthquake appeal. They came into the national office on 22 February to give their donations to Wellington Area Manager Ken Birdling pictured above with Advocacy and Policy Manager, Gabby Emery.
The many volunteers love their work at the Balclutha Red Cross shop. The shop has proven the be a valuable resource for the area with average takings around $1500 per month. Their shop is also the site of storage for the welfare resources. They have blankets, linen, clothing toiletries and much more in case of emergency. Balclutha volunteers are also on hand when the NZ Blood Service visits town. Red Cross Balclutha makes sure there are volunteers ready to help out and serve refreshments to the many donors. National Office PO Box 12-140, Wellington 69 Molesworth Street, Thorndon Wellington Phone: 04 471 8250 Fax: 04 471 8251 Email: national@redcross.org.nz This edition written by Olivia Cramond. www.redcross.org.nz