Red Cross Blogs

This is a guest post by Henry Makiwa, British Red Cross senior media relations officer, who recently went to Burkina Faso. There, he revisited Sorhow Mohamed. Two months ago, Sorhow’s family was already struggling for food – now they have almost run out. 

It’s high noon in Tin Akoff village in north-west Burkina Faso. Temperatures are shaving 50 degrees celsius on the thermometer. Not a cloud hangs in the skies, not a bird dares to come out, and scatterings of cattle and goats hide in the shade of leafless trees.

Everything here is serene and quiet, except for some hushed chatter of two sisters who watch over a feeding toddler – while shooing off a troublesome goat that’s constantly attempting to eat from the same bowl as the minor. 

From the entrance of his small dome-shaped hut, 71-year-old Thiombiano L’Oudalan beckons us in. This grass-thatch and canvas structure – a whole twenty-four square metres of it – is home to Thiombiano, his wife Sorhow Mohamed and their eight children. 

Fighting for the family 

Sorhow is not at home today as she is at a village women’s networking group, discussing how they may best support their families during the current challenging times. 

Thiombiano says: “She is very resourceful. She doesn’t give up – she never tires of fending for her family. 

“We have been fortunate to get the Red Cross vouchers so we have had some grains and rice for food. What you see the child eating outside, however, is the last bowl of rice in this house.” 

Bad harvests 

Residents of the small village of Tin Akoff in the Sahel region of northern Burkina Faso are predominantly farmers. They live off their land, growing the staple grains such as millet and sorghum every rainy season. 

Thiombiano tells us that the last rainy season was “unkind” and crops failed, resulting in food shortages for his family and 15.6 million other people across west Africa. 

He explains: “Last year the situation was bad but it has never been as bad as this year. First was the drought and then the locusts came and ate everything left on the fields. 

“For a while during this drought, we have relied on selling our livestock at the local market – we hardly have any animals left anymore. The price of food at markets has risen dramatically by two or three-fold in certain circumstances. We are in grave danger and we do not know what to do,” 

Nothing left to give 

The Red Cross has completed the first phase of its support to 1,100 vulnerable families in Tin Akoff. Each family has received ten food vouchers to be exchanged for bags of rice, cooking oil, salt and sugar at local markets and shops. 

However, the Burkina Faso Red Cross is struggling to fund further work in Tin Akoff, Oudalan and Soum. According to Alid Adigrass, the Burkina Faso Red Cross president for the Tin Akoff, it is uncertain when the area will get more support. He says: “We don’t know when the next distribution will be under these conditions. It’s really bad. 

“Families have been getting vouchers – which are like a currency to buy basics from local merchants – while mothers of young children have been getting cereals from Red Cross stocks. These are now running out which is why we desperately need the international community to give us a helping hand.” 

The British Red Cross has launched an appeal to help the vulnerable in the Sahel region of west Africa. This appeal will help support people in the region now, and reduce their future vulnerability. 

Since we last visited Sorhow’s family, the situation has got considerably worse. Help us stop the situation deteriorating even further for millions of people. 

Donate to the West Africa Food Crisis Appeal

Read more about Sorhow and other people affected by the food crisis

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Tags: Burkina Faso, food crisis, food insecurity, Sahel, west Africa, West Africa Food Crisis Appeal
Posted in Emergencies, International

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This week, people up and down the country are dedicating their time and energy to raising money for the British Red Cross.

These dedicated fundraisers never stop dreaming up imaginative ways to bring in donations – which is just as well, because every penny they bring in is hugely important.

Every year we help people in crisis, both internationally and in the UK. Every pound donated to Red Cross Week is vital in supporting this work.

How your money could help

Perhaps you’re organising a game of office bingo? Sell tickets for 80p apiece and each one is enough to help a child affected by the war in Sierra Leone reintegrate into school. Imagine how many children you could help by getting your whole building involved.

Let’s say you put on a bake sale at your university and charge £2.50 for a slice of your famed marshmallow-topped devil’s food cake. That one slice has raised enough to buy a foil blanket for someone who has survived an emergency in the UK.

If you’re a sporty type, perhaps you’re taking on a challenge for Red Cross Week. Whether running, swimming, cycling or jumping out a plane, just £5 in sponsorship money could feed one critically malnourished child for a week.

Clearing out your cupboards? That old ill-fitting summer dress could sell for £10 in a Red Cross charity shop, enough to train one vulnerable person in the UK to save lives in an emergency. Your unloved frock could mean the difference between life and death.

There are a million ways to get involved this Red Cross Week, and whatever you do – and however much you raise – it’s enough to help someone, somewhere, in crisis.

It’s not too late to get involved in Red Cross Week 2012 – find out how.

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Tags: charity shops, disaster response, Emergencies, fundraising, International, Red Cross Appeal Week, UK
Posted in Fundraising and events, UK

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Despite the many tragedies Sthabile, 15, has already known in her life, she is a quietly assured young woman, with a vision for her future.

Sthabile never knew her father and was just five years old when her mother passed away from HIV in 2001. For a while her grandmother looked after her, but then she also died.

“Sometimes I feel like I’m alone,” Sthabile says. “But I try to forget it.”

Sthabile lives in South Africa, where one in four adults lives with HIV. You can donate to the British Red Cross South Africa HIV Fund, and help us continue our HIV programme in South Africa.

Becoming an HIV orphan

For many years now, Sthabile has been looked after by her neighbour Nomusa Mnguni – who was a friend of Sthabile’s grandmother.

A few years ago, a Red Cross volunteer came to the house and invited Sthabile and Nelly – another teenage orphan adopted by Nomusa – to join the support group.

“The Red Cross gave us some food parcels, clothing and blankets,” says Sthabile. “I like going there, as there are lots of children to play with. I’ve also learned things, like about HIV and how you get infected.”

Red Cross support

Zinhle Doncabe, who runs the Red Cross club for orphans and vulnerable children, says: “When I first met Sthabile in 2008 she was shy and had low self-esteem.

“We do an exercise with the kids called ‘the tree of life’ which involves them drawing a tree and looking at their lives and plans for their future. We also encourage them to make memory boxes. They put photos of the family members they’ve lost in them, with stories that they we encourage them to write about them.

“When we began this with Sthabile, she was questioning a lot about why we were doing it and how it would help. But over time, through playing and talking with her and encouraging her to write things down, she’s changed. She talked to me about not having her parents and she’s no longer struggling with her emotions. She’s ready to go on with her life and keeps emphasising she wants to continue her education.”

A granny’s love

Nomusa looks after Sthabile and Nelly as if they were her own children. She says: “When the girls’ families passed away and they were left alone, I was afraid they would feel bad. I was also worried they might be abused as girls living alone. I don’t have much but I don’t see it as difficult choosing to look after them. Whatever I get I try by all means to take care of them.

“I think the Red Cross support group opens their minds and encourages them to do everything – to help out in the house and take responsibility for their schoolwork. Sthabile has no problems now. But Nelly’s mother only died last year and sometimes she doesn’t feel well but she doesn’t talk about why she’s not happy. I think maybe the group will help her.

“Times are changing but I always educate them about how to take care of themselves and especially not to have boyfriends at an early age. But I don’t talk about HIV, though I know they’ve learned about it from the Red Cross.”

Teenage pregnancy

Sthabile has a busy life – during the week she has school, and on Wednesdays and Fridays she goes to the Red Cross support group after school. On Saturday she washes her clothes and on Sunday she goes to church. But like any teenager, it’s hanging out with her friends that Sthabile most enjoys.

“My best friend Thobeka is understanding and I can really trust her. We like playing games like skip rope and listening to R&B or gospel music,” Sthabile says.

At 15, she is happy to wait a little longer before having a boyfriend. Despite, or perhaps because of the high levels of teenage pregnancy and domestic abuse around her, she is determined to avoid the same choices made by many of her peers.

“I want to grow up without getting pregnant while I’m young. I only want to have a family when I have the things I need. When I grow up I’d like a boyfriend who will take care of me, someone who won’t destroy me and who will like to see me happy. If I behave myself I think that it will happen.

“I don’t want to disappoint my granny. She is everything to me – my father, mother, uncle, everything.”

Daring to dream big

With around 40 per cent unemployment in South Africa, finding a job is a huge challenge, especially for those without a privileged start in life. But Sthabile is not daunted and as her confidence has grown she’s begun to think big.

“My granny says if I finish school and she’s still alive maybe her relatives will help me get a job with the police,” says Sthabile.

“But really I would like to be a nurse or doctor or social worker. I feel that if I face the world and tell them I can do this then I can make it. Even if I can’t be a doctor, I’ll get a job with payment. I won’t let myself down, I give myself the hope that one day I’ll be something.”

Find out more about how the Red Cross helps people living with HIV

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Tags: AIDS, HIV, orphans, South Africa
Posted in Health and social care, International

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How far will you go to generate stock for our charity shops this Red Cross Week? Probably not 1,309 metres to the top of a mountain – but that’s just what volunteers and staff from the Aviemore Red Cross shop did.

Last Thursday, the dedicated team took a goods collection box up Cairngorm – Scotland’s sixth highest mountain – to highlight the importance of donations this Red Cross Week.

The stock box was transported to the mountain peak first by funicular railway and then by snowmobile. It now resides 635 metres above sea level in the staff area of the funicular railway station – making it our highest UK stock box by quite a margin.

Donate closer to home

You don’t need to scale a mountain to donate however. There are plenty of places to take your unwanted stuff, both in Aviemore and across the UK. Just drop items off at your nearest charity shop – or get in contact with them to see if a collection service is available.

Anne Marie Rattray, manager of the Aviemore Red Cross shop, explained the idea behind the high-altitude stunt: “By taking a stock box up Cairngorm, we’re hoping to draw attention to Red Cross Week and encourage people to donate goods for sale in our shop.

“We also want to encourage people to Gift Aid their donations, effectively making them worth 25 per cent more and providing even more income to help the Red Cross carry out its important humanitarian work.”

Valuable funds for invaluable work

In the past two years alone, our charity shops have raised over £53 million in sales. This money supports the work of the British Red Cross, helping people in crisis, whoever and wherever they are.

That tablecloth you’ve kept in a dusty draw for years could raise money towards feeding a malnourished child. The harlequin tie you got for your birthday – but for some reason never found the occasion to wear – could help enable us to respond to flooding here in the UK.

You don’t have to be athletic to take the search for stock to new heights this Red Cross Week. Just have a root around in your drawers, under the stairs and on top of your wardrobe for stuff to give us. By donating next week you will help us towards the Red Cross Week goal of raising £1 million.

Read more about Red Cross Week and how to get involved

Find out more about donating to shops

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Tags: charity shops, donate, fundraising, red cross week
Posted in Fundraising and events, UK

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“Aid money only goes into the pockets of rich leaders, despots and tyrants, so why bother donating?” 

Corruption is an issue in some of the countries where the Red Cross works, so it is understandable that donors want to know where their money is going. 

Both in the UK and overseas, we are extremely careful to ensure that your donation reaches the people who need it most. 

The Red Cross operates internationally through a network of Red Cross or Red Crescent National Societies, which deliver aid at a local level. All money donated to British Red Cross emergency appeals stays entirely within the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and is used directly to support the people you wanted to help. 

We are used to working in challenging environments, and Red Cross staff and volunteers are always present on the ground to monitor the situation and manage the operation, ensuring aid reaches those who need it most with transparency and accountability – both to those donating funds and to those in need of support. 

“We’ve given billions and billions in aid, why are people still hungry?” 

Part of Africa been suffering food crises for decades, so it’s understandable that people who donated in the 1970s, 80s and 90s want to know why, years later, hunger has not gone away. Why, after millions – perhaps billions – of pounds have been donated to the continent, are they being asked to help again? 

Because – sadly – it is an incredibly complex issue. Droughts are natural and recurring in many areas of Africa, but in recent years the resilience of vulnerable people has decreased, making them less able to cope. High food and fuel prices, displacement and conflict – coupled with underlying poverty and recurrent drought – have added to people’s vulnerability. 

Many communities are trapped in a vicious cycle of food insecurity – not having enough food makes people more susceptible to malnutrition and ill health, and raises the risk of death. Being unwell and lacking sufficient energy makes it harder to make a living and buy or grow food. 

While aid can effectively provide a short-term solution to hunger, long-term programmes to reduce people’s vulnerability are one way to break the cycle. The Red Cross is helping people prepare for – and cope with – droughts and other risks, so that in future their communities will be more resilient to future disasters. 

However, our ability to respond to a crisis is dictated by the amount of money we receive, and when. Often, the money doesn’t start coming in until the tragic stories are splashed all over the papers. 

By the time stories about babies dying of malnutrition hit the news, protecting, recovering and strengthening people’s means of making a living is no longer enough. The crisis reaches a point where only emergency aid can stop people dying. 

In the current crises the Red Cross is working across the African continent, including in Burkina Faso, Mali and Kenya. We are unapologetic about doing whatever it takes to save lives. 

It is terribly sad to see hunger in some African countries happen again and again, but there is no quick fix for such a huge problem. Money donated to us will help stop people suffering in the short term and increase people’s long-term ability to cope. But some of the causes of, and therefore solutions to, these problems are political – the Red Cross cannot end conflict or control food prices. 

Read more about why crises don’t make the news and what we’re doing in west Africa 

“Isn’t this a population problem – shouldn’t people who can’t afford children stop reproducing?” 

Some people say that families in developing countries shouldn’t have so many children if they can’t feed them – why not stop them having kids by promoting birth control? 

While the global population is on the rise, the world’s current hunger problem isn’t due to the number of people on the planet. The world produces enough food to feed everyone – including large families in developing countries – and this is even after the third of it we waste has been thrown away. 

A real issue is poverty: through no fault of their own, many people around the world can’t access the food they need – properly nutritious food – mostly because they cannot afford to buy it, particularly now that food prices have risen to record levels. 

Related to poverty there are other issues – though people may wish for smaller families, they sometimes cannot afford the means to effectively plan them. Furthermore, in some cultures people are expected to have large families, so that children can support parents in their old age. 

One of the best ways to give people control over their lives is to ensure they have access to education and are able to make a living for themselves. Learning about family planning and birth control is part of this process, but certainly not the only part. 

Read more about feeding the world’s population

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Tags: Africa, East Africa, East Africa Food Crisis Appeal, Horn of Africa, Sahel, west Africa, West Africa Food Crisis Appeal
Posted in Emergencies, International

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