While communities and countries across the globe work to limit the impact of the novel coronavirus COVID-19, the world’s Big 6 Youth Organisations have joined forces to remind young people that “heroes are born from terms of adversity”. The Big 6 - the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), the World Alliance of Young Men’s Christian Associations (YMCA), World Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA), World Organization of the Scout Movement, World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, and The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award Foundation – have also suggested six ways in which young people can build their own leadership skills and boost their resilience while also lifting community spirits and providing vital volunteer services. In a statement released today, the Big 6 said: “As young leaders of the world, you have - and will continue to have - a valuable role in the global response to and recovery from the COVID19 pandemic. It is you volunteering, you lifting the spirits of communities and you lighting the world with your action. “We recognize that during these challenging times, both as individuals and as communities, we need to take a moment to remind ourselves that it is OK not to be OK. This is a time to care for each other, but importantly to look after ourselves: our own health and our own wellbeing. This period will pass and we will come away from it stronger, a generation of responsible and resilient citizens.” IFRC has suggested a ready-to-use Wellbeing Kit for youth from the China Red Cross, Hong Kong Red Cross Branch with activities for children and adolescents to be carried out alone or accompanied by an adult, focusing on mental health. For more information and links to the Big 6’s free activities and advice, please click here.

A warm smile, calm voice, kind words and a lot of laughter. Raoa'a Abo Alaban, 24, a community volunteer of Jordan Red Crescent is visiting Sadel, 10, in her family’s home. The two are happily chatting about friends, favorite school subjects and future plans. One could not guess that just a few weeks ago Sadel was deeply disconsolate and afraid to even leave the house. “There’s always been a lot of bullying at school, but this fall it escalated into a violent incident in which Sadel was attacked and badly beaten”, Sadel's mother says. After the incident Sadel was too terrified to go to school. Her family then contacted Raoa'a, who like them is also from Syria, lives in the same community and is well known for her volunteering with the Red Crescent. Raoa'a started to visit Sadel to provide her with emotional support and encouragement. “Raoa'a has been calling us, visiting us, inviting Sadel and our whole family to go play with her children. She has really helped Sadel to fight her anxiety and become a more happy, curious and active ten-year-old again”, Sadel’s mother says. Thanks to all the support and encouragement from her family and Raoa'a, Sadel is bravely continuing her studies with good marks. Together with Sadel's mother, Raoa'a is also trying to raise awareness about anti-bullying at the school and within their community. Raoa'a started to volunteer with the Jordan Red Crescent Society three years ago. She has received many trainings and new skills from the Red Crescent, for example about community-based health, first aid and psycho-social support. "Volunteering gave me a new life. Before, I stayed at home a lot, and did not have many people to talk to. Through volunteering, I've met so many new people from my community, both Syrians and Jordanians. I have become more open myself”, Raoa'a says. A mother of three and a Syrian refugee living in a predominantly Jordanian neighborhood, Raoa'a has become the link between many Syrians and Jordanians in her community, bringing people together. Raoa'a is very passionate about volunteering, and especially working with children. “Helping others is something that comes very naturally for me. I’m sure I will continue volunteering in the future, whether it’s here in Jordan or back home in Syria”, she says. Photo and words by Mirva Helenius / IFRC

By Katarina Zoric, IFRC Although she’s been volunteering for more than 30 years, 70-year-old Senka Vuković is not yet tired of it. On the contrary, this retired teacher is full of life, very active and has a lot to offer to people around her. “Volunteering is my lifestyle. Through it, I’ve experienced many happy as well as many sad moments and I'm grateful for all of them”, says Senka. Her first contact with the Red Cross was in elementary school and she knew right away that one day she’d become a volunteer. She started volunteering part-time and became more and more engaged with helping others. “I loved working with children the most. I was especially happy every time we had a chance to take kids from low income families to the seaside for summer holidays. Those children saw the sea for the first time and bringing a smile to their faces is still the most rewarding thing I can think of,” she says. Senka experienced a lot of painful moments too. Most of them happened during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Memories of injured people, innocent victims and thousands who had to leave their homes and families are still vivid. Because of this, she deeply understands people who are forced to leave their homes today. Together with her colleagues from the Red Cross of Bihac City in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Senka has spent the last 18 months helping migrants in Una-Sana Canton, especially those who are separated from their families. “I understand how difficult it is for them and I try to help them to get in touch with their families. I talk with them, listen what they’re saying and sometimes all they need is to be heard,” she says. Everything she has learned during her years of volunteering, Senka gladly shares with her younger colleagues. “I’m giving them my wisdom and in return, they’re keeping me young”, she concludes with a smile.

Four European Red Cross societies and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) joined EU Aid Volunteers, a programme of the European Commission that provides opportunities to European citizens to get involved in humanitarian aid projects, support the provision of needs-based humanitarian aid in third countries and engage in volunteering opportunities through deployment and online volunteering. A two-year project named EU Aid Volunteers - Enhancing Aid Capacities is implemented by the IFRC in partnership with the Red Cross societies of Austria, Bulgaria, Italy and The Netherlands. The project’s overall objective is to improve the capability of potential sending organizations to provide quality support, managing enhanced pools of competent volunteers and staff for emergency response and improving remote support of operations. European Red Cross societies can become a sending organization by completing a certification process that enables them to deploy volunteers in emergencies of non-EU countries through the EU Aid Volunteers scheme. There are four learning events planned for 2019 that are partially funded through the EU Aid Volunteers initiative: Cash Assistance and Coordination, Assessment and Planning (CAP) for Red Cross Red Crescent Operations trainings taking place in Bulgaria, as well as Information Management and Coordination/Assessment trainings to be hosted in Austria. To find out more about the EU Aid Volunteers project, visit the official webpage.

“My dream is to go back to Cox Bazaar and meet the two years old twins, a boy and a girl called Reema, named after me,” said Reema Al-Merekhi, a volunteer with the Qatar Red Crescent who was deployed in 2017 to Bangladesh to assist displaced communities from Myanmar. By then Reema, assisted the pregnant mother to access life-saving health services when her labor started. “I will never forget the joy I felt when I held the twins in my arms. Even in disasters situations, life continues, and hope prevails,” she said. Reema is a member of IFRC Field Assessment and Coordination Team (FACT) that is mandated to assist people in need as soon as a disaster happens. She is one of few women from the Middle East who are on the surge list, ready to be deployed whenever needed. “I recommend that Arab women from MENA Red Crescent and Red Cross should be represented in the surge system. It is important for localization and ensuring that MENA national societies can support each other in emergencies.” Reema believes that the deployment has increased her: “Confidence in myself and my negotiating skill with host and partner national societies and has given me a better understanding of the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement. The best moments are when you work with volunteers to assist the people who are in need.” Initially Reema felt overwhelmed with the scale of the population movement and the scope of the needs. “It was tough, all the displaced people were in need. The number of people arriving to Cox Bazar increased day by day. We had to prioritize our work and use our FACT training and QRC experience to know where to start,” she said. During her 45-day deployment, Reema undertook emergency needs assessments and supervised distributions to affected communities. During her mission to Cox Bazaar, Reema trained 20 Bangladesh Red Crescent Society (BRC) volunteers in emergency needs assessment, ensuring sustainability of quality service delivery after the end of her deployment. Reema Al-Merekhi attended the IFRC’s Global Surge Meeting in Geneva last month, which brought together 80 participants to discuss progress against the IFRC’s surge optimisation process. Reema, a volunteer with the Qatar Red Crescent since 2013 and a QRC Board Member, was FACT trained in 2016 in Doha. After violence in Rakhine state, Myanmar, on 25 August 2017, more than 700,000 people crossed the border into Bangladesh. Since then, BRC supported by the IFRC and Red Cross and Red Crescent partners from around the world, has reached more than 250,000 people with emergency help including healthcare, food, water and shelter. More than 160,000 people have received medical care.

Geneva, 19 November 2018 – The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) strongly condemns the attack on a Mexican Red Cross relief distribution yesterday (18 November) in Guerrero State that claimed the life of one volunteer and injured six others. According to the Mexican Red Cross, the distribution was taking pace in the town of San Juan Tenería, in the municipality of Taxco when it came under armed attack. IFRC President Francesco Rocca said: “Our thoughts are with the families and friends of the victims of this incident. This attack on humanitarian personnel is completely unacceptable and we join the Mexican Red Cross in calling for an immediate investigation. “Above all, we stand in solidarity with our Mexican Red Cross brothers and sisters. We are one global family, and today we all feel their loss deeply. “National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies are neutral and impartial organizations. Their only focus is on serving the most vulnerable. Humanitarian volunteers and staff are not a target.”

Solferino, Italy, 24 June 2018 – More than 10,000 Red Cross volunteers representing more than 60 National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies from around the world have gathered in the northern Italian town of Solferino for an annual tribute to the events that led to the foundation of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. The two-day festivities culminated last night in the Fiaccolata, a torch lit march that retraces the steps of the women of the town of Castiglione delle Stiviere in the aftermath of the bloody Battle of Solferino in 1859. These women provided first aid and care to the many wounded left laying on that battlefield, paying no attention to a soldier’s nationality, and laying the foundations for neutral and impartial humanitarian action. Swiss businessman Henry Dunant, inspired by the people he met in Solferino and Castiglione, sought to transform the devastation of the battlefield of Solferino into something positive and innovative – a global humanitarian network with the goal of helping those in need during times of conflict, and to change the nature of warfare. “This is an important weekend for the Red Cross,” said Francesco Rocca, President of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). “It is a chance to reflect on our history and our humanitarian principles. But more importantly, it is a chance to pause and look ahead, to consider our world, and to think about the kind of organization we will need to be in the future.” On Friday and Saturday morning, leaders from 35 National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies took part in a session of the Solferino Academy designed to explore future humanitarian challenges and to consider how a global organization like the IFRC will need to respond. This meeting comes amid rising humanitarian needs around the world, fuelled by conflicts, increasing disasters, and the emergence and spread of new or forgotten diseases. All this is taking place in a world where respect for basic humanitarian norms and for international humanitarian law seems to be on the decline. “Next year, we will adopt a new Strategy 2030. We don’t know what our world will look like in five or ten years. But we can be confident that some of the challenges we face will be different to those we are currently grappling with,” said Mr Rocca. “Our goal isn’t only to anticipate what those challenges will be, but rather to make sure that we are the kind of organization that can adapt to new demands, that can be agile in its thinking, and rapid in its response. “Key to this is the need to invest more in strengthening local capacity.”

Damascus, 20 December 2017 – Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) volunteers and staff are the lifeline to millions, covering the last and the most difficult mile to reach the most vulnerable. Providing these volunteers with safe, secure, and regular access to communities in need across Syria is a humanitarian imperative, said Mr. Francesco Rocca, newly elected President of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), at the end of his official visit to Syria. The IFRC President visited Syria to meet with SARC volunteers and staff and to hold high-level discussions with government officials on the need for a significant scaling up of humanitarian relief and access of Red Crescent volunteers and staff to besieged and hard-to-reach areas, including Eastern Ghouta where conflict has severely limited civilian access to food and lifesaving health services. “I am humbled by the bravery and spirit of SARC staff and volunteers. They have shown unparalleled courage and resilience as they bring humanitarian services and relief to millions of people who have endured immeasurable suffering and loss in the course of this seven-year conflict”, said Mr Rocca. Mr Rocca was welcomed to Damascus by the SARC President, Mr Khaled Hboubati and visited shelters run by staff and volunteers near the capital. In a series of high-level meetings with senior government officials, Mr Rocca also discussed ways to provide further support to the Red Crescent as demands for its services continue to grow, particularly when the country begins the process of recovery from conflict. “The situation is critical,” said Mr Rocca. “There are more than 13 million people in Syria who still have urgent humanitarian needs. Each day, thousands of SARC volunteers provide emergency food and health care to communities who have lost everything and help people rebuild their lives with psychosocial support and sustainable livelihood programmes. Their neutrality and impartiality not only save lives, but will be critical as some communities begin the huge and difficult task of rebuilding”, he said. SARC is the largest provider of humanitarian services in Syria with more than 7,800 active volunteers who work in close partnership with other humanitarian partners present in Syria to distribute relief to more than 5 million people each month.