Red Cross volunteers distribute kits in North Windward

THE RETURN of the evacuees to the red and orange zones provided another opportunity for the local Red Cross volunteers to engage with some of the country’s most vulnerable people who have returned home after staying in shelters for months.

While the country was being battered with torrential rains on Sunday August 22, the members of the team found their way to communities north of the Rabbaca Dry River to distribute relief items to the returning residents. The items distributed were hygiene kits, cleaning kits, food, buckets and jerry cans, a release from the Red Cross states.

Red Cross Operations Manager Julia Simmons explained that the kits are usually tailored to the specific needs of the recipients. She highlighted that the kits contained items such as brooms, shovels, and hammers among other tools,to repair the homes that were damaged during the heavy ash fall resulting from the eruptions.

Simmons said she takes pride in her team of volunteers as they put a lot of thought into the process of packing the kits.

She further explained that in order to become an effective volunteer one has to possess such attributes as selflessness, commitment, as well as an ability to observe and identify the needs of the persons whom they wish to serve. Simmons pointed out that while they are always looking for persons with special skills to work in specific areas, no one is turned away from the Red Cross. The organisation offers training in many areas of speciality whether in the field or otherwise as “Volunteers are the back bone of the Red Cross”.