Red Cross Blogs
Blogs highlighting the work of staff and volunteers within the British Red Cross, part of the largest humanitarian organisation movement in the world.
Listen to our podcast, Red Cross Radio, covering the range of work done by British Red Cross volunteers and staff in the UK and around the world. It provides a behind-the-scenes look into our aid work -- from projects helping children recover after years of conflict in Sierra Leone to gaining new skills as a volunteer in the UK.
Subscribe to Red Cross Radio to automatically download to your computer or listening device or subscribe using RSS. You can also listen to the individual episodes below.
Haiti earthquake: talk about life-saving toilets
By Sarah Oughton
February 5, 2010 at 10:46 am
Okay so toilets may not be the first thing you think of when it comes to life-saving equipment, but think again. Without decent sanitation facilities, diseases like cholera can spread like wild fire and as was seen in the Zimbabwe crisis last year – thousands of people can die as a result.
In an article on Reuters AlertNet, the UN reports that 7,000 latrines are urgently needed in Haiti to help prevent the spread of disease.
My colleague, Sharon Reader, is currently in Port-au-Prince with our sanitation emergency response unit. Listen in as I speak to her and find out how it’s all going.
Image © Joe Lowry/IFRC
Comments (0) »Tags: emergency response, emergency response unit, ERU, Haiti, Haiti earthquake, haiti earthquake appeal, latrines, sanitation, toilets, video, water and sanitation
Event first aid podcast: could you?
By Katrina Crew
January 28, 2010 at 10:49 am
We teach people life-saving first aid skills in the hope that your community will be able to withstand an emergency or crisis – whether that’s your sister, your best friend, a neighbour, or a stranger.
Our volunteers also provide vital first aid cover at many local events such as football matches, festivals and exhibitions.
Could you help someone in need?
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Image © Anthony Upton/British Red Cross
Transcript:
Read the transcript for this podcast »
Comments (0) »Tags: event first aid, first aid course, volunteer
Haiti quake: latrines, logistics and linking up recovery
By Sarah Oughton
January 27, 2010 at 3:09 pm
I always watch BBC breakfast, while eating my muesli, both to enjoy Bill’s quips and to keep up-to-date on the latest international news so I’m ready to hit the ground running when I get to the office. Obviously in the last two weeks, Haiti has dominated the headlines and I’ve seen many a report including interviews with my colleagues and footage with glimpses of the Red Cross emblem in action.
This morning, there was the amazing story of the man pulled alive from the rubble, just as the search and rescue phase has been declared over. However, it’s clear that Haiti is not going to dominate the headlines for much longer, although it will continue to be a huge part of our Red Cross work for the following weeks, months and years.
The first thing I did when I got to work this morning, was read Sharon Reader’s blog. Sharon’s a colleague I usually work pretty closely with as her day job is in our London press office. But she’s also a trained member of our mass sanitation emergency response unit. She’s currently in Haiti helping provide toilets. It’s certainly not a glamorous job – and you can’t be shy to talk about things such as ‘wild defecation’ – but it’s an important job and as Sharon points out, it certainly makes you think twice before complaining about the toilets at Glastonbury!
As well as loos, logistics is another area of British Red Cross expertise. Yesterday, we sent two more logs delegates – Kenny Hamilton and Gareth Morgan – to the Dominican Republic. They are joining Emily Knox and David Stephens who are helping receive the aid that is being flown into Santo Domingo before being trucked on to Haiti.
Gareth said: “I got the call 20 minutes before Osprey’s v Leicester on Saturday. It was a bit of a distraction, but I said yes and I can’t wait to get out there. I’ve been following what’s been happening on the news, and also I have been in contact with some colleagues on the ground, and reading their accounts on the Red Cross website, so I know it’s not going to be tough but however difficult conditions are for me, I will be able to come home afterwards, which is a luxury many of those affected by the disaster don’t have.”
Kenny, whose day job with the Red Cross is head of refugee services in Scotland also had experience in transport and warehousing and was involved in responding to the floods in Gloucester in 2007. He said:“ This is my first international deployment, but I’ve done a lot of training for this role and I’m looking forward to going out and using the skills I’ve learned. There’s no better organisation in the world to learn from and use these skills with, and this is such an important cause. The fact that more people with logistics skills are being sent out to expand the existing team is a real sign that the flow of aid getting into the country is growing.”
This morning, another colleague is flying out to Haiti. Paul Jenkins will be helping co-ordinate the Red Cross emergency response operation. This means linking up the different areas of the response and considering all a community’s needs, such as linking where new homes are built to future sources of livelihoods, as well as access to safe water and sanitation, and providing people with the skills, cash or assets to get back on their feet. Read more about long-term recovery on our website.
Before he left, I caught up with Paul to find out more about what he will be doing. Listen to the interview.
Donate now to the British Red Cross Haiti Appeal.
Image 1 © Marko Kokic/IFRC
Image 2 © Lloyd Sturdy/BRC
Image 3 © Sarah Oughton/BRC
Comments (0) »Tags: emergency response, emergency response unit, ERU, Haiti, Haiti earthquake, haiti earthquake appeal, sanitation, video, water and sanitation
Haiti earthquake: live update from hygiene aid worker
By Sarah Oughton
January 26, 2010 at 1:39 pm
Listen in as I call Sharon Reader – one of our delegates in Haiti.
Sharon is part of our mass sanitation emergency response unit, joining the huge relief effort in Haiti.
Donate now to the British Red Cross or DEC Haiti appeal.
Image © Marko Kokic/IFRC
Comments (0) »Tags: emergency response, emergency response unit, ERU, Haiti, Haiti earthquake, haiti earthquake appeal, sanitation, video, water and sanitation
Haiti quake: bringing life-saving water
By Sarah Oughton
January 23, 2010 at 1:00 pm
When Luca Salone first heard about the disaster in Haiti, his first response – like so many people – was he wanted to help.
Born in Italy, living in France and now working for the British Red Cross – Luca is flying out to Haiti today to join the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies’ emergency response operation.
In Port-au-Prince, where the infrastructure has been decimated, Luca and others will be working out how to bring life-saving water to thousands of desperate people. Listen to this interview with Luca and find out about the challenges he expects to face.
Donate now to the Haiti earthquake appeal.
Image © Marko Kokic/ICRC
Comments (0) »Tags: emergency response, emergency response unit, ERU, Haiti, Haiti earthquake, haiti earthquake appeal, sanitation, video, water and sanitation
Haiti podcast: how do we help people recover?
By Sarah Oughton
January 22, 2010 at 2:13 pm
Although the last few days have seen some miracle stories of people still 
being pulled alive from the rubble in Haiti, the reality is the search and rescue phase is coming to an end. Aid organisations are now steaming ahead with the relief effort.
And while the focus is getting medical aid and vital supplies of food and water to survivors as quickly as possible, my colleagues are already talking about the importance of planning for long-term recovery. I’ll be reporting back more about these plans as they evolve over the coming weeks.
Today, British Red Cross delegate Jacqueline Frize is flying to Haiti to join a 
field assessment and co-ordination team. Last night I interviewed Jacqueline, who will be working with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies to begin looking at how to help the people of Haiti get back on their feet. Listen to the podcast and find out her initial thoughts.
Donate now to the British Red Cross or DEC Haiti appeal.
Image 1 © Talia Frenkel/American Red Cross
Image 2 © Penny Sims/BRC
Transcript:
Read the transcript for this podcast »
Comment (1) »Tags: disaster, disaster response, earthquake, Emergencies, emergency response, emergency response unit, Haiti, recovery, volunteer
Haiti podcast: sending relief to survivors
By Katrina Crew
January 21, 2010 at 3:00 pm
When people lose everything they own in a disaster, certain items can mean the difference between life and death.
The British Red Cross has warehouses of emergency items we can send anywhere in the world after a disaster. Listen to an interview with John Cunningham, who manages our warehouse in England. He explains what we are sending out to help survivors of the Haiti earthquake.
Transcript:
Read the transcript for this podcast »
Comments (0) »Tags: earthquake, ERU podcasts, Haiti, Haiti earthquake, haiti earthquake appeal, podcast mp3, sanitation
Aid worker reports on Haiti earthquake
By Sarah Oughton
January 20, 2010 at 6:46 pm
Another crazy day here, no sooner have I updated all our comms info then a new development happens.
We’re now deploying a second emergency response unit (ERU), which specialises in mass sanitation and is flying to Haiti tomorrow morning.
Our logistics ERU, which is based in the Dominican Republic, is already co-ordinating the distribution of relief.
The Red Cross has already sent sixteen specialist ERUs from around the world, including experts in water and sanitation, logistics, IT and telecommunication infrastructure, health facilities and medical aid.
I’ve just finished interviewing Sharon Reader, who’s a member of our mass sanitation ERU and will be going to Haiti to provide further support in helping prevent the outbreak of disease.
Listen to her interview and find out more.
Follow Sharon and other members of the emergency response teams in Haiti on our live international delegate blog.
Image 1 © Talia Frenkel/American Red Cross
Image 2 © British Red Cross
Tags: earthquake, ERU podcasts, Haiti, international, mass sanitation emergency response, Sharon Reader
Haiti earthquake podcast: interview with aid workers
By Sarah Oughton
January 18, 2010 at 3:51 pm
As time is running out for survivors of the Haiti earthquake, desperate for food, water and medical attention, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is drawing on resources around the world to get vital aid to those who need it as quickly as possible.
I’ve been talking to members of our logistics emergency response unit – who are now in the Dominican Republic – co-ordinating the distribution of relief. Listen to the podcast and find out the emergency response effort is going so far.
Image © Talia Frenkel/American Red Cross
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Comments (5) »Tags: disaster response, earthquake, emergency response, ERU podcasts, Haiti, interview, logistics, mp3, red cross
Logistics of disaster relief – part three
By Sarah Oughton
December 4, 2009 at 2:30 pm
Have you ever switched on the news to see the horror of the latest flood,
cyclone or earthquake and watching the gut-wrenching distress of people who have lost everything, wished you could go and help?
Of course, your boss might not be best pleased when you don’t turn up for work the next day and there are always reasons why you might not be able to drop everything and go. Yet this is exactly what the members of the British Red Cross emergency response unit do.
Listen to this interview with Carl Lindley and find out what it was like to arrive in Myanmar after the trail of destruction left by Cyclone Nargis in May 2008.
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Read the transcript for this podcast »
Comments (2) »Tags: Burma, cyclone, emergency response unit, ERU, ERU podcasts, logistics, Myanmar
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