Press Room
Red Cross
01/03/2006
Red Cross
As assiduous readers already know, last September TM made a commitment to provide support for earthquake victims in Peru. We got involved in the reconstruction work by putting up a €50,000 donation. To make sure our help got there, we contacted the Spanish Red Cross and found everything had been taken care of. We’re all aware of the important work they do providing support for the world’s most needy people, in the face of disasters that require an urgent, professional response. And their cooperation turned out to be so pleasing that we wanted to find out more about this organisation, so we asked for an interview with Charo Solanes, Head of the Spanish Red Cross Company Collaboration Department.
Following a natural disaster there are so many shortages to make up for: food, shelter, infrastructure, and so on. How does the Spanish Red Cross help Peru?
Since an earthquake reaching 7.0 on the Richter Scale hit Peru on 15 August 2007, the Spanish Red Cross has consistently provided emergency support aimed at reducing the vulnerability of those affected by the disaster.
Through this intervention, the Spanish Red Cross has contributed to the Emergency Appeal launched by the International Federation of Red Cross Organizations and the Red Crescent to support the Peruvian Red Cross’s response operation.
The funds donated by people and collaborating entities such as TM made it possible to carry out an initial response to the emergency through the acquisition, sending and distribution of 42 tonnes of Humanitarian Aid. This was made up of cooking kits, family hygiene kits, blankets, family tents, awnings for temporary housing and collapsible water bins. This was distributed by the Red Cross around the worst hit areas, mainly in the Ica region.
Emergency Response Units (ERUs) were also deployed on the ground: a Relief ERU specialised in aid and distribution, and a Logistics ERU. The necessary technical teams were also deployed along with these Units to support the operation.
The operation is currently in its rehabilitation phase, where activity is primarily focused on the rehabilitation and recovery of infrastructure, mainly of schools and housing.
The Spanish Red Cross has sent 23 international representatives to ensure the correct handling and completion of all activities. This involves logistics, distribution, psychosocial support, communication, early recovery, reconstruction and/or rehabilitation, temporary accommodation, telecommunications, administration, cooperation for development and coordination. At present, 8 representatives are still in the country.
Many readers of TM en Acción may already be familiar with your organisation, but could you just run us through the principles guiding the Red Cross?
All measures taken by the International Red Cross Movement and the Red Crescent are guided by seven Basic Principles: Humanity, Impartiality, Neutrality, Independence, Volunteering, Unity and Universality.
Your work area is very extensive: social intervention, healthcare, international cooperation... Tell us about some of the projects you will be carrying out in the near future.
The Red Cross has a strong presence within Spain and is involved in a variety of different areas. Its principal task is to work on the front line, alleviating the suffering of people through direct action at the scene of the problem. Work is often focused on supporting particularly vulnerable groups (the elderly; immigrants and refugees; people with disabilities; children, youths and women with social difficulties, drug dependencies, etc.), tackling the main causes of social exclusion: poverty, inequality, violation of human rights and any form of discrimination that may arise in society.
The Red Cross wants to get “closer and closer to people”. That’s why it carries out work in different areas: health, social intervention, employment, emergencies and the environment, among others.
In an international context, the presence of the Spanish Red Cross is felt all over the world through more than 1,000 projects directed at emergency humanitarian aid, disaster response, cooperation for development and institutional cooperation.
To conclude, could you give us a few tips on how we can collaborate or become a member of the Red Cross?
There are many ways to get involved with the Red Cross: giving up your time for voluntary work, becoming a member or providing financial support through donations.
Companies have the opportunity to strengthen their CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) policies by collaborating with the Red Cross. There are a number of different routes that companies can take, such as involvement in awareness raising campaigns, collaboration in mutually-agreed cooperation projects, providing work for disadvantaged groups or selling Red Cross lottery tickets to support the organisation’s humanitarian work.
Anyone interested in becoming a volunteer and/or member of the Spanish Red Cross should contact (+34) 902 22 22 92, or visit the website www.cruzroja.es
At the end of the interview, we thanked the Head of the Spanish Red Cross Company Collaboration Department for her time and we were left with the impression that we would speak again soon. At TM we believe it’s only fair to help those in need, and we are happy we contacted the Red Cross.