New Zealand Red Cross Link November 2012

new zealand red cross

Issue 6/2012 In this issue: Red Cross and Tuvalu Exercise Shakeout Before National Office New Zealand

Red Cross Welfare Support Trucks Unveiled

The first of five specially designed welfare support trucks have been unveiled.

International operations and emergencies manager Andrew McKie says that what we have learnt from Christchurch is that it is critical we are prepared.

“These trucks, along with our newly formed national disaster response team, ensure we are more prepared than ever to respond to emergency situations.”

Each of these trucks will hold welfare set-up equipment including, stretchers, mattresses and blankets for 140 people, basic food and toiletries for volunteers, medical supplies, an AED, individual and centre hygiene sets, lighting sets and telecommunications sets.

On top of this, the trucks provide room for emergency personnel to perform mass casually triage and pre-hospital emergency first aid support if needed.

These trucks will be based in Wellington, Auckland, Hamilton, Christchurch and Dunedin.

Check out ONE News coverage of the unveiling at http://tvnz.co.nz/ national-news/red-cross-rollsdisaster-trucks-video-5128232.

Message from Penny By the time you receive this last edition for the year, I will have stepped down as National President and the incoming president, Jenny McMahon will be in place.

I write this knowing it is time for a fresh face but also with some sadness, as I leave behind all the busyness of each day, the wide variety of things that need to be done, and most of all the many people with whom I have had contact over my six year tenure.

This time has been one of many changes and milestones. The most significant of these is of course the devastating earthquakes in Canterbury. This resulted in Red Cross appeal being the largest in the history of our country. Despite this defining event we have not been prevented from taking big steps to enhance our organisation in a great many ways.

We have changed our membership structure, we have many more young people involved, and are increasing the diversity of all Red Cross people.

We have a new Constitution, and now a new Strategic Plan to take us to 2020. The list of progressive actions is large and I am proud of what has been achieved.

I wish you all well now, hope that I will meet up with many of you again in the future, and ask that you provide the same support to Jenny that you have given me.

Penny Mason

Message from Jenny This is the first column I write to you all via Link. I would like to thank those who supported me to take on this role, following in the footsteps of the strong advocate for us all, and the person who has started us down the track to a stronger grassroots position, to know better and be more active in our communities – Penny Mason.

Happily there are other places Penny’s strength and conscientiousness will be acknowledged and so I won’t do it here.

2012 has continued to be a busy year for our National Society.

Activities up and down the country have been increasing, not only in Christchurch; so the focus for our National Office is now on domestic operations as well as international.

It is a reflection of the changes we are seeing round the globe, and endorses the imperative to restrengthen our grassroots membership.

As this year ends and 2013 arrives, the communication to everyone will start to elaborate on how the Board and national office will support everyone to meet these challenges – with increasing demands on Red Cross both domestically and internationally.

I trust you will all enjoy the summer break, and be ready and refreshed for another busy year in 2013.

Jenny McMahon

National President

New Zealand Red Cross’ third generation reverse osmosis plant

Aid worker Graham Duggan When Graham Duggan had the opportunity to become a New Zealand Red Cross aid worker he saw it as the perfect opportunity to merge two important aspects in his life, medical care and international relations.

With a robust career behind him including intensive care, emergency medicine, primary health, remote nursing as well as a Masters in international relations, Graham was eager to put his skills to good use.

New Zealand Red Cross has refined its portable reverse osmosis desalination plant, creating the third generation.

The portable reverse osmosis desolation plant is used in many Pacific Islands facing natural disasters, to turn sea water into drinking water.

Most recently, in response to the drought in Tuvalu, New Zealand Red Cross took two plants, gifting one to the Tuvalu Red Cross Society when they left.

New Zealand Red Cross has already made leaps and bounds in its development from the first generation to second generation, increasing portability immensely and now they

have refined this further.

Working with Spectra and its New Zealand agent Enertec, in conjunction with New Zealand owned Covertex, New Zealand Red Cross’ portable reverse osmosis desalination plant can now do three separate things.

Due to more comprehensive planning and design it can filter fresh water to drinkable water, turn salt water to fresh water and ensure it can be collected and transported in portable water bladders.

The entire plant breaks down into three 30kg boxes (as shown in the picture above) that can easily be transported between countries as personal baggage.

Cambodian refugees receive school uniforms

Pictured here are Cambodian refugees who recently settled in New Zealand.

Red Cross assisted them by providing funding for their school uniforms. An expensive but necessary article of clothing giving them the right start in their new home.

01 WORLD AIDS DAY

Pre-departure Graham was eager to get into it. Having lived in Angola during the civil war in 1999 he describes himself as no stranger to conflict zones.

“Nerves will always be in the back of your mind, but one has to put that aside and realise you can be of more benefit by taking a deep breath and keeping going. Taking the leap as they say.”

Graham is currently deployed in Kabul on a mission as a health aid worker.

internal challenge

New Zealand Red Cross endeavours to help refugees settle into life in New Zealand as seamlessly as possible.

KEY DATES December

After a short stint in an Australian Government department he knew the desk was not for him. Becoming a Red Cross aid worker enabled Graham to use his skills in a numbers of different ways, and he felt it was a much better fit.

NTERNATIONAL DAY FOR 02 ITHE ABOLITION OF SLAVERY

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 FOLLOW US ON TWITTER:

twitter.com/nzredcross

NTERNATIONAL VOLUNTEER 05 IDAY FOR ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

Exercise shakeout

WHO AM I? Do you want to nominate someone you think we should all know about? 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

Red Cross?

Who am I?

Who am I?

Erica Duff, personal assistant to the chief executive and admin help to the National Board.

Candace Noyes, programme coordinator, Taranaki.

How long have you been with Red Cross?

How long have you been with

I have been with New Zealand Red Cross since August 2011.

What do you do?

I look after the chief executive’s diary, take minutes at senior management team meetings, meet and greet visitors and numerous other requirements.

What is your favourite rainy day activity?

Going for a walk with our dog Molly and husband Brent. I also love painting, reading, sewing and patchwork quilting.

Biggest Indulgence?

My biggest indulgence would be travel!

Coming up one year.

What do you do?

A little bit of everything; from implementing national programmes into our community and working on local initiatives, to fundraising and managing volunteers – I wear a dozen different hats every day!

As part of exercise ShakeOut national office dropped, covered and held on 9.26am on 26 of September as part of the nationwide earthquake drill.

Everyone participated getting under their desks and checking out what is in their emergency supplies bags.

What is your favourite rainy day activity?

Baking or hiding under the covers and reading a good book.

Biggest Indulgence?

Travel and food. Nearly every pen I’ve ever earned has been spent eating my way around the globe.

Where in the world are our aid workers?

AID WORKERS TAKING OFF Glenys Ewans has finished a short break and is now returning to Democratic Republic of North Korea for the 2nd part of her mission.

AID WORKERS IN THE FLIELD Judy Owen Syria Bernice Chiam India Graham Duggan Kabul Melanie Ogle Kenya Louise Akayi Iraq Graham Zinsli Syria AID WORKERS ARRIVING BACK Peter Winthrop is now home after working in the Pacific Rosemary Fenton is now home after working in the Pacific Jeremy Francis arrived home at the end of August after working in Malaysia

10 HUMAN RIGHTS DAY

Sue Chamberlain arrived home at the start of October after working in Timor Leste Amanda Scothern arrived home at the start of October after working in Pakistan Carl Burr arrived home late October after working in China Chelsea Giles-Hansen arrived home at the start of November after working in Malaysia Jodye Tomalin arrived home midNovember after working in Lebanon Joshua Herron arrived home late November after working in Senegal Louise Humphreys arriving home in early December after working in Afghanistan Felicity Gapes arriving home in early December after working in Somalia

18 INTERNATIONAL MIGRANTS DAY

NTERNATIONAL HUMAN 20 ISOLIDARITY DAY

NEW ZEALAND RED CROSS AND TUVALU

New Zealand Red Cross has played an important role in Tuvalu over the past few years helping out with the 2011 drought, gifting a desalination plant, providing first aid instructor training, donating satellite phones and more.

Pacific regional first aid coordinator Peter Winthrop has visited twice, primarily in an instructor training role. Peter has spent time with staff and volunteers of Tuvalu Red Cross ensuring they have the updated skills to disseminate the training to the wider community.

“They have such an enthusiasm for learning. My training style is pretty rigorous but they match it.”

The Tuvalu Red Cross has grown to five full time staff since the drought, with many willing volunteers. The National Society has a very good

relationship with New Zealand Red Cross, which Peter puts down to a number of things: funding provided and support over many years.

“We ensure we work alongside the National Society so that we can support activities that it has identified as important. The best practice first aid really hits home, and staff and volunteers can then disseminate this information to the rest of the community and the outer islands.”

Nuclear weapons essay competition winner

Writing an essay on why we need an international treaty to ban nuclear weapons came easily to Nicole Slight, winner of New Zealand Red Cross’ nuclear weapons essay competition. She says it aligned closely with her passions and international law studies at Victoria University.

Nicole was awarded her first place certificate during a morning tea with New Zealand Red Cross Chief Executive John Ware. Mr Ware reiterated the importance of the competition in doing our part to ignite debate and awareness around nuclear weapons.

Red Cross charity quiz

First aid training is a core activity of Red Cross everywhere and is particularly important in the Pacific due to the vast distances and isolation of some communities says Peter.

“People are very interested in the training so first aid can be a platform to build from and begin discussions around other health issues and emergency preparedness.”

New Zealand Red Cross maintains consistent contact with Tuvalu Red Cross recently sending across adult and baby manikins to further their first aid trainings.

Red Cross charity 5th annual quiz challenge was held in Tauranga earlier this year.

It was a great success with 150 attendees and 24 teams from businesses, clubs, local government, local radio and Red Cross volunteers.

Both the venue and prizes were generously sponsored. New Zealand Red Cross Bay of Plenty events coordinator Heather Dabwowski said the hosts provided challenging and fun general knowledge questions that encouraged everyone to get involved.

Top prize went to a group of new Tauranga residents the ‘Red Rascals’ (pictured), winning by a 7 point margin.

25 CHRISTMAS DAY

26 BOXING DAY

31 NEW YEARS EVE

Before National Office

Recently international operations and emergencies manager Andrew McKie stumbled across some interesting images showing us how Thorndon (where New Zealand Red Cross’ national office is now) used to look.

Petrol Vouchers for Meals on Wheels New Brighton

Above is a image of Hawkstone street in1845, with the black arrow marking where national office is now situated.

Did you know New Zealand Red Cross has archives?

FUNDRAISING UPDATE won’t want to miss the annual appeal. Make sure you put the new date in your diary now. Got any questions? Contact laura.cooper@redcross.org.nz

New Zealand Red Cross will join with other National Societies across the globe on World Red Cross Red Crescent day to raise funds for our Red Cross programmes.

Planning is well underway to ensure that next year’s fundraising extravaganza will be bigger and better than ever before. With an exciting creative concept, you

New Brighton Red Cross came out on top receiving $1220 from Z Carlton corner and $1600 from Z New Brighton.

Meals on wheels community transport coordinator Jill White explained that the petrol vouchers were important as they have many drivers who deliver on a daily basis.

Thorndon in 1859 (right) is one of the earliest known photographs looking towards Mount Victoria. It is taken just a few hundred metres from where national office is now located.

It’s official – the date for next year’s annual appeal is confirmed as 6 to 12 May 2013.

As part of Z Energy’s initiative to support their neighbourhoods nationwide people purchasing petrol at Z stations throughout this time were given a token, it was then up to them to drop it in the charity box of their choice.

On another note, did you know we’ve been working with Cornucopia for over ten years as our sole agency for project partner acquisition? It is thanks to their hard work that we now have over 25,000 regular givers who will donate nearly $7 million this year.

Our campaigners working on the front line have a tough job, but it is their passion and drive that keeps them going – thanks to them we can continue with the life saving working we’re famous for both in New Zealand as well as overseas.

If you have any queries regarding Project Partners please forward them to project.partners@redcross. org.nz or 0800 697 277.

At New Zealand Red Cross national office there is a comprehensive archive library, where you can request information.

If you dare to delve into the archive, you can find information from as far back as 1914. Within these archives there are photographs, documents, annual reports and old newspaper clippings, which gives a real feel to what it was like to be a part of New Zealand Red Cross in the ”good old days”.

Internal communications assistant Olivia Cramond had the opportunity to get lost amongst the archives to write a feature for Always Red and she was astounded.

“It was fantastic being able to read what Red Cross branches used to get up to, and compare them to now. My favourite archives were reminisces.

Reading all the prisoner of war stories and the way Red Cross has touched so many people was really humbling.”

NEW ZEALAND RED CROSS LINK

area round-up

Gisborne

Whakatane

Rotorua

¡ Gisborne Hospital’s Red Cross library volunteers (from left to right) Kathleen Thomas, June Dyer, Beverly Fryer, Joan Morrow, Beverly Hughes and Barbara Benson

The Rotorua disaster welfare support team have received new overalls.

Emergency management officer Graeme Langford sent us in this picture of them all looking “suitably proud”.

More news from the Rotorua branch…

Rotorua Red Cross also held a book fair to raise funds and awareness.

With a great turn out they are already in the process of planning their next one. Check out their pictures below.

Gisborne Hospital Red Cross library has been operating for seven years thanks to six hard working ladies who give up a few hours of their time each week.

The library is used by those in the hospital and also by outpatients.

The hard working volunteers have replaced damaged magazines in many of the wards, and are on hand to lend kind words and a smile to the patients.

Two trolleys of books are taken around the wards supplying reading material to those who cannot visit the library themselves. Often, once the patients have returned to full health, they thank the volunteers by supplying magazines and other reading material.

Whakatane Red Cross shop made the front page of the Whakatane Beacon with their quirky window display, with some intricate dresses made by the shop coordinator Carolyn.

What makes these dresses a bit different is that they are made with Purex toilet paper, both plain and blue and white!

Bay Of Plenty

Red Cross’ library team would greatly receive any donations of reading material to be dropped off at the Gisborne Red Cross rooms or at Furniture Court in the Red Cross box.

Hokitika

Students from Pongakawa school presented their new found first aid skills to the Te Puke AGM after attending a Red Cross people savers course in the Bay of Plenty.

Events coordinator Heather Dabrowski attended and said they did an “awesome job” and obviously learnt a lot.

“They were grateful to Red Cross for the opportunity to attend the course and each of them thoroughly enjoyed it.”

Volunteers from the Hokitika Red Cross branch Marion Savage (left) and Jill Mitchell (right) were at their local New World handing out emergency preparedness and Shake Out information.

They also had a lucky prize draw for people to win some of Red Cross’ torch radios.

National Office PO Box 12-140, Wellington 69 Molesworth Street, Thorndon Wellington This edition written by Olivia Cramond.

Phone: 04 471 8250 Fax: 04 471 8251 Email: national@redcross.org.nz www.redcross.org.nz