BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – FIFTEEN Red Cross volunteers from St. Kitts and Nevis are now more equipped to mitigate disaster effects, thanks to a workshop held by the local branch of the international volunteer organisation.
Conducted over a four-day period, the workshop came on the heels of a First Aid/CPR workshop for instructors that occurred last month. Facilitator Terry Charles, who is also the Director-General of the Grenada Red Cross, informed that 18 areas of instruction had been delivered to the eager volunteers, who are now more capable of providing effective care.
“We addressed contingency and disaster planning, coordinating and working together with external partners, structures of emergency operating procedures and the Red Cross code of conduct, among many other things. The workshop’s underlying theme was that in the delivery of the Red Cross service, volunteers must ensure they do it at a commendable standard and one that maintains dignity and respect for affected persons,” Charles stressed.
Speaking exclusively to SKNVibes, local Red Cross Disaster Coordinator Kerry Greene revealed that the organisation is currently in need of new volunteers to ensure it is ready for the 2009 hurricane season.
“With the hurricane season beginning just a matter of days ago, it’s imperative we get more volunteers. Our lack of volunteers limits the number of activities we can undertake, such as shelter management, telecommunications and more assistance to the HIV/AIDS programme. We would like to give more help than we currently do and we can only achieve that through increased membership,” she noted.
The Red Cross is a humanitarian organisation with branches in 186 countries. Ninety-seven million volunteers worldwide are committed to its mission statement of “[Improving] the lives of vulnerable people by mobilising the power of humanity”.
Persons interested in becoming volunteers can contact the local Red Cross office at 465-2584. Officer hours are 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. from Mondays to Fridays.
