More to us than first aid

MIA HENDERSON

There’s more to the Red Cross than just first aid. For 80 years the volunteerism organisation has been working in disaster preparedness, sexual health education and grassroots community-building.

On its 80th anniversary, the mission of the TT Red Cross Society is to educate the public on all the organisation has to offer.

TT Red Cross Society president Jill DeBourg said the fair at the Brian Lara Promenade yesterday was the first of many campaigns to increase public awareness.

“It was the first step...in helping people to understand we’re more than first aid, we’re more than an ambulance service.”

The TT Red Cross was founded on July 2, 1939 as a branch of the British Red Cross Society, to provide relief to refugees and victims of World War II. After TT’s independence in 1962, the national Red Cross Society became part of the International Red Cross in 1963.

Now the society provides support to citizens in a variety of ways: facilitating voluntary blood donations, teaching sexual health education and assisting the public in disaster preparedness.

Yesterday’s event hosted booths featuring volunteerism, first aid, disaster preparedness and sexual education. Passers-by could also be tested for HIV as well as for blood pressure and sugar. The society hoped to launch a social media campaign yesterday in further efforts to educate people about its services.

Announcing the anniversary slogan – People-focused; mission-based; community-driven ­– DeBourg said yesterday’s event was open to all members of the public, including migrants, as she believed the people were the basis on which the society was founded.

“This is who we are as an organisation.

“We are people-focused. We can’t do what we do without our volunteers, staff, stakeholders; we are a collaborative team. We are mission-based in that we are very focused on the values and principles of our organisation, what affects the community and how we impact our communities,” she said.

Asked how it felt to be TT Red Cross president on such a momentous occasion, she said, “It gives me great pride and joy, as the chief volunteer ,to be part of an organisation in TT that is 80 years old.”

She encourages the public to participate in the year-long celebration of the society.

Recently appointed TT head of the Country Cluster Support Team at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) Ariel Kestens was honoured to accept the position, as he believed it was a momentous time for the TT Red Cross.

“The reason...why we call ourself a movement and not an organisation is because we have a cause to help people, that drives our main work forward. Being people-focused, mission-driven and community-based, which is the new focus of the national society, is exactly what we at the (IRC) are looking for,” said Kestens.