Being a volunteer at the Red Cross

By Sanda Bostan

The Red Cross is the largest humanitarian network in the world, being present in 192 countries. It deals with human suffering, protecting their lives and rights, and uphold human dignity, especially during wars, conflicts, natural disasters or other emergencies.

The two crucial ideas that began this network were to found such a supporting and helping centre during war times, formed entirely of volunteers in every possible country and to promote an international agreement which could protect the hurt soldiers in the war zone, offering them a neutral state. In general the Red Cross is based on 7 fundamental principles which are: humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, volunteering, unity and universality.

However, what is being a volunteer at the Red Cross like? Well, I have recently joined this organisation and I am very satisfied with my experience there so far. They are divided into 3 departments: disasters, psychosocial and mass-media, each having their responsibilities. Firstly, they offer psycho-social support to refugees by creating integrational activities with them trying to bring at least a little bit of joy in their lives. They also inform the public in schools and specialised centres, children and teens, about earthquakes, fires, cybersecurity, bullying, hygiene, Covid-19 vaccination and many diseases. In addition to that, they lead First Aid trainings, regarding the lateral safety position, performing CPR correctly, doing bandages and many other things, sometimes even helping to offer first aid at marathons or concerts. Moreover, they inform people about international days of preventing certain maladies, sensitise the population about children suffering from Dawn syndrome and inform regarding the importance of donating blood. Red Cross Moldova also distributes humanitarian help packages, whether they are alimentary or hygienical. On the other hand, the volunteers also benefit greatly from organised trainings, changes of experience overbroad, and overall gaining experience which will be very beneficial in the future.

To sum everything up, volunteering at the Red Cross is definitely worth the time and effort as you really get the satisfactory feeling of helping somebody and making even the slightest difference!