Simon
Beaudry has been a Canadian Red Cross volunteer for almost nine
years. He is a 25 years old PHD student studying psychology
at university of Ottawa, and has been involved in various activities
of Red Cross from first aid trainings to external defibrillations.
Being an experienced volunteer, he is now the leader for a local
emergency response team. When talking about RespectED, the award
winning violence and abuse prevention programme of Canadian
Red Cross, he proudly announces that "I am one of the
active volunteers among 60,000 Red Cross volunteers in Canadian
Red Cross." He continues: "Our programme RespectED
offers educational programs and training for community groups,
sports associations, and other adults who work with youth and
have a vested interest in their well being."
Simon was one of the young volunteers that gathered in Tel Aviv
for an international youth summer camp held by Magen
David Adom in Israel - Protecting Human Dignity: Youth
Caring for the Community - during the last week of September.
36 volunteers between the ages of 18 to 28 from 14 different
Red Cross/Red Crescent societies, varying from Venezuela to
Uganda, enjoyed learning more from each other’s Red Cross
knowledge and experiences.
Simon says: "Volunteering in Canadian Red Cross is not
like volunteering in any other organization. For instance in
disaster relief you are one of the few that is there for individuals.
I mean the firefighters are there to extinguish the fire, paramedics
are there for wounded but we are there to communicate with people.
We are the first to support and comfort the victims."
Then he continues: "At the end of the day, a simple smile
and a thank you are the most valuable reaction that one can
get out of volunteering, that’s the only reward I need
and that’s what I get in the Red Cross."
Lana Balkar, a 23 years old bright volunteer from Jordanian
Red Crescent, echoes what Simon says and adds: "To
be a volunteer means making a difference in other’s lives.
You make the others smile and that’s my one and only award
in the Red Cross as a volunteer."
She continues "In Jordan we have a huge number of refugees.
They need the food and sheltering assistance that Jordanian
Red Crescent provides. They live in our camps and they are mostly
assisted by us – the volunteers. The volunteers are essential
especially for working with women at those camps."
Lana explains the services of the youth volunteer’s in
the camps: "According to the culture in the region, the
women are not allowed to go out. There the Red Cross volunteers
are the most helpful and caring for them. We help those women
help themselves by feeling confident and valuable again. Through
the activities facilitated by the Jordanian Red Crescent volunteers,
they benefit from many courses, including: tailoring, knitting,
handcrafts and etc."
She gets excited when she talks about the work of the women
and continues: "After going through our trainings, they
start working at home, producing goods. We, the Red Crescent
volunteers, go out and sell their products. It is great to see
the beautiful smiles when the volunteers bring their money back
to the camps. They feel more precious, and they are happy to
be productive rather then sitting in the tent all day."
When talking about their work all young volunteers agree that
more or less they are doing the same thing and as a result they
are facing the same challenges.
Although they come from different countries and cultures they
have one thing in common which is “the simple smiles are
the best rewards for Red Cross volunteers.”
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| Simon
Beaudry, a young Canadian Red Cross volunteer for nine
years, says the greatest reward for his voluntary work
is a smile and a thank you.
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| Lana
Balkar (left) from Jordanian Red Crescent
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