In Cameroon, sex workers are often social outcasts. Many know little about the health risks and do not have the power to negotiate with their clients over using a condom. The HIV rate is believed to be much higher among sex workers than in the rest of the population and, with every sex worker likely to have at least 150 clients a year, the health consequences for Cameroonian society could be tragic.

Through its ‘Filles Libres’ (Free Girls) project, the Cameroon Red Cross aims to reduce stigma and discrimination and to fight the spread of HIV/AIDS. The project has already proved successful in Yaoundé, where the Red Cross set up a support centre and sex workers are encouraged to attend the newly opened Red Cross health centre.

Here, they are treated with dignity and in confidence. They can access voluntary counselling, be tested for a range of conditions and apply for small amounts of credit for income-generating projects. About 40 women have already set up businesses such as hairdressing salons and food stalls.

In September last year, the Cameroon Red Cross took the project to Douala, the economic capital and the sex-work hub of the country. Here, the HIV rate is estimated at 12% or higher.

The Red Cross trained 21 volunteers, nine of them sex workers, as peer educators. In the past four months, they have organized over 300 educational talks, reaching over 1,600 sex workers. “When I accepted the invitation,” says one, “I told myself that the Red Cross could help me.”

Peer educators are a real strength in a project like this, where women often have bad experiences of treatment by ‘outsiders’. These volunteers are so important to the Red Cross because they know what the life is like – many have lived it for themselves.

The project has proved so successful that is has already been replicated in Sao Tome and Principe, the Central African Republic and Equatorial Guinea.“You find 20 people in a house where five used to live. Sanitation and latrines are just not there. With the rains, there could be disaster.”

Canada

Suzanne is a full-time student and a single mother. She also volunteers with the Canadian Red Cross as an abuse prevention educator for school children.

Suzanne is herself a survivor of domestic abuse and a mother whose daughter was sexually assaulted. She has had to face many overwhelming hardships but has done so with strength and dignity. She promised herself that she would never to let another family go through the same painful ordeal alone. Today, she is turning her struggle into a quest to make her community a better place.

Six years ago, Suzanne founded ‘Not my child’, a much-needed support group for families whose children have been sexually assaulted. It offers support to parents and children, as well as a court buddy programme that assists families through the judicial system.

As a trained Red Cross abuse prevention educator, Suzanne works directly with young people. Her in-depth training has enabled her to reach out to school children to raise awareness of abuse, violence and bullying/harassment prevention.

Suzanne has also coordinated ‘Speak Out! It’s more than just a games workshops. These help to prevent abuse and harassment in sport and are targeted at hockey coaches.

“Of my many volunteer roles in the community, being an abuse prevention educator for the Red Cross is my most fulfilling,” she says.

“Knowledge is power and I get great satisfaction knowing that when I leave a classroom full of children, they will carry with them the knowledge of what abuse is, how to get help and, most importantly, that it is not their fault.”

Grenada

Some 300,000 people are living with HIV in the Caribbean region. About 30,000 became infected in 2005 alone. The region has been ranked by UNAIDS as the second most affected after Africa, with AIDS believed to be the leading cause of death among those aged between 15 and 44.

In Grenada, a three-month campaign involving young volunteers, called ‘Ride the BUS’, has helped to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS. In this case, ‘BUS’ stands for ‘building understanding for safety’.

Every Friday, the young volunteers visited busy bus terminals in four of the island’s regions to distribute bumper stickers, t-shirts, flyers and exercise books, all carrying an HIV/AIDS awareness message. They also set up an information booth nearby where people could find out more about HIV/AIDS and the Red Cross. There was an element of fun as visitors to the booth could pick a question from a bowl and win a t-shirt if they answered it correctly.

“Many of the older people were delighted to see young people involved in reaching out to the public about the virus,” says Cindy Lewis, a Red Cross volunteer. “One man came to the booth and congratulated them for their efforts to raise awareness. He was quite emotional because his brother had recently died of AIDS.”

On the final weekend of the campaign, the young people organized a reunion. Fifty peer educators attended and later went from house to house distributing information. The campaign finished with a live concert."

Indonesia

It is just after noon in Semper village, North Jakarta, Indonesia. People are busy with their work and apart from the noise of ducks from three nearby poultry farms, it is quiet. Suddenly, the silence is broken by the arrival of visitors.

Villagers emerge from their shops and homes to see people dressed from head to toe in white suits and their faces covered by masks. Over their shoulders they carry a spraying pipe.

The unexpected guests are volunteers from the Indonesian Red Cross, who have been sent to spray disinfectant at poultry farms and other places identified as potentially infected by the avian flu virus. Bird flu has brought fear to Indonesia, where nine of 14 people infected with the disease have reportedly died.

“We did this as part of a programme to prevent the spread of avian flu,” explains Eno, one of the Indonesian Red Cross volunteers.

Since the first case of avian flu in Indonesia in June last year, the government has undertaken prevention activities and improved the care of people affected by the disease.

The Indonesian Red Cross has supported this by raising community awareness of avian flu. This is why, as well as spraying disinfectant, the Red Cross volunteers distribute information brochures.

Globally, the World Health Organization has recorded 148 cases of avian flu since 2003. Seventy-nine people, over half of those infected, have died. As well as Indonesia, cases have also been found in Cambodia, China, Thailand, Vietnam and Turkey.

The Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies worldwide have a vital role to play in coordinating with their governments and raising awareness, as in Indonesia. Volunteers like Eno are crucial in getting the messages across, spelling out the facts, quelling rumours and keeping people updated.

The Netherlands

Red Cross volunteers in the Netherlands are a vital part of the ‘home from home’ for children with life-threatening diseases.

Children who do not need hospital care or cannot get the care they need every day at home can make use of the three Netherlands Red Cross Mappa Mondo (map of the world) homes. These are specialized substitute homes for children up to the age of 18 years. The three homes are based in Wezep (since 1997), Rijswijk (since 2002) and Waalre (since 2006). Each can accommodate between eight and 10 children, who no longer need hospitalization but still need some type of medical care.

Half of the children live in the Mappa Mondo homes permanently and half are there for short stays. All are given the best possible care from a team of staff and carer-givers supported by Red Cross volunteers.

“The children live here will other sick children so they do not feel sorry for themselves,” says Tanja. “Mappa Mondo has a very special place in my heart. Here, I’m a fellow human being offering love and security.”

The children are involved in their care as much as possible. Besides the medical care, they need warmth, time and attention – just like any other child. This is where the volunteers come in. They create an ordinary home situation where the children feel at home and where they are not constantly reminded of being ill. They can play and eat together and do other things they like. Parents, siblings or carers are encouraged to stay over.

“My foster son is nine years old,” says Piet, a parent to one of the children. “He has a rare, incurable disease. When I heard that it was possible for him to stay at Mappa Mondo from time to time, I found it difficult at first because what kind of parent sends their sick child away?

“But then we gave it a try for a couple of days and my son seemed to like it a lot. The wonderful garden, the birds, the contact with other sick children – it does him a world of good. He feels safe and happy both here and at home. And when he spends a day at Mappa Mondo, I have time for myself. It’s a great solution for everybody!”

Qatar

Eight years ago, 18 year-old Firas watched helplessly as his favourite uncle died. The 50 year-old man’s blood pressure had suddenly rocketed to 260 over 80 before dropping sharply. Despite frantic efforts by medics, it was all over in just ten minutes.

Later, at the hospital, a distraught Firas asked the doctor what he could have done to save his uncle. Having been a volunteer with the Syrian Red Crescent for some years, the doctor directed Firas to the Damascus branch and gave him the name of someone to contact there.

Today, Firas, now 26, is a regional disaster management trainer. He is a member of a growing disaster management team made up of young volunteer trainers in the Middle East and North Africa, a region prone to disaster.

At the beginning of April this year, Firas was in Qatar, training young people attending the first disaster management camp to be held in this rapidly developing Emirate. The camp has involved the simulation of a large-scale disaster where the volunteer trainees had to shelter and feed 300 children within an hour.

“This is my first camp outside Syria,” he says, wiping his forehead in the searing desert heat. “It has taken me nearly six years, several training courses and at least one disaster to become a trainer.”

Despite being busy helping his father to run a shipping and clearing company at Damascus airport, Firas makes sure he has enough time for his volunteer work. He knows how important it is – one of the lives he saved was that of a seven-year-old child.

“I want to continue doing what I do,” he says. “And I want to continue training others to be prepared.”Firas has the right attitude. The region needs more young volunteers like him.

Sudan

In March this year, an outbreak of cholera in Southern Sudan stabilised but there were fears that the epidemic could still spread and move to the north of the country. This fear was based on the onset of the rainy season and an increase in the flow of people returning to their homes following the year-old peace agreement.

In situations like this, Red Cross Red Crescent volunteers are invaluable in helping to counter the spread of disease. In this instance, the Sudanese Red Crescent provided affected areas with chlorine tablets to purify water, oral rehydration salts and hand soap to improve hygiene.

Equally important, Red Crescent volunteers were stationed at water collection points such as boreholes and wells dispensing chlorine tablets with each jerry can of water.

They also visited people in their homes promoting better hygiene, urging people to wash food, baby bottles and utensils, and reinforcing the need to cook all food thoroughly.

United Kingdom

The AMIGOS (active mates in guiding, organizing and socializing) group is run entirely by 12 young British Red Cross volunteers from London. Its aim is to offer young refugees the opportunity to socialize, meet new friends and learn practical life skills like cooking and first aid. They also arrange regular group outings.

Based in Hammersmith, the volunteers have recently participated in events to mark World Aids Day and have organized a display at Hammersmith Library.

The AMIGOS project has been running for 18 months. In that time, those attending the group have included young people from Sudan, Afghanistan, Uganda and Liberia.

In January this year, the British Red Cross volunteers were awarded the prestigious Millennium Volunteers London Group of the Year Award in recognition of the friendship and support they give to young refugees and asylum seekers.

“The award was fantastic news,” says Rachel Brooks, service manager. “It is recognition of the tremendous work our young volunteers are doing to help some of the most vulnerable people in their communities.”