Humanitarian - Australian Red Cross

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Australian Red Cross delegate Kirsten Jenkins says goodbye to young friends at the camp soccer challenge in Haiti organised by Red Cross. Photo: José Manuel Jiménez, International Federation Red Cross ‘As a volunteer within the world’s largest humanitarian movement, you will help mobilise the power of humanity to reduce or prevent human suffering wherever it might be found,’ Roz Wollmering, Manager of International Delegate and Volunteer Services. Ordinary work in extraordinary places Australians can now volunteer with Red Cross around the world. A surf lifeguard, a youth worker and an HIV/AIDS adviser are among the first Australians to volunteer with Australian Red Cross, as part of a new program funded by the Federal Government. Australian Volunteers for International Development is managed by AusAID in partnership with Australian Red Cross, Australian Volunteers International and Austraining International. Through this program, Australian Red Cross will place volunteers within Red Cross societies and other organisations in Asia, the Pacific and Africa. Volunteers will be supported with airfares, a living allowance, accommodation, insurance, training and emergency support. Most assignments are for 12 months, although they can range from three months to two years. International volunteering involves ordinary work under extraordinary circumstances, explains Roz Wollmering, Manager of International Delegate and Volunteer Services at Australian Red Cross. ‘On the surface, an international volunteer role has a lot in common with your day job in Australia. You complete paperwork, go to meetings and submit reports. ‘Except that the proposal you write might help a Red Cross society get the funds to carry out relief work in a flood-damaged town,’ she says. ‘Your morning meeting might be on a Pacific island with people who are rebuilding their homes after a cyclone. The report you write might show how a group of HIV-positive women are supporting their families through a small business scheme. ‘As a volunteer within the world’s largest humanitarian movement, you will help mobilise the power of humanity to reduce or prevent human suffering wherever it might be found.’ International volunteers supported by Red Cross will include health professionals, financial and human resource advisers, community development and social workers, lawyers, blood specialists, volunteer managers, and communications and fundraising professionals. While they will have diverse backgrounds, experiences and aspirations, they all need to be adaptable, resilient, selfaware and able to work effectively with people of other cultures. Red Cross societies in Asia and the Pacific have welcomed the program, and many societies have already identified assignments for Australian volunteers. These assignments include: • raising funds to support road safety programs in Cambodia • establishing a surf lifesaving program on a beach in the Philippines • creating procedures that enable Red Cross societies to quickly mobilise local volunteers • developing peer education programs to reduce HIV transmission in Kenya • strengthening financial and human resource management processes in Timor-Leste. Volunteers stand to gain both professionally and personally through this program. ‘For some people, international volunteering is an opportunity to gain diverse experience, broaden their skills or fast-track a career in international development,’ says Roz. ‘For others, it’s a chance to make a unique personal contribution or have a life-changing experience.’ If you have what it takes to be an international volunteer, let us know. Visit www.redcross.org.au to view the latest opportunities or call our International Volunteer program team on (03) 9345 1834 to discuss your options. Page 06
Critical humanitarian work – improving the lives of asylum seekers Hanna Kopel, a Red Cross Community Detention Program caseworker. Photo: Australian Red Cross The Australian Government announced on 18 October 2010 that community detention options would be expanded to enable significant numbers of vulnerable families and unaccompanied minors to be moved from immigration detention facilities into communities. Red Cross agreed to act as the lead agency in care arrangements for these groups. Eight months later, with support from partner organisations, we are coordinating the delivery of the program across Australia. The primary purpose of the Community Detention Program is to provide holistic care for families with children and unaccompanied minors while their visa status is being resolved. This is achieved through community detention arrangements instead of detention in remote settings or other inappropriate facilities such as secured motels. This is a more humane and successful approach to caring for vulnerable people and will result in improved health and wellbeing outcomes. Hanna Kopel is a Red Cross caseworker working for the Community Detention Program. She looks after more than 15 clients, from different backgrounds, and various needs in the community. ‘There are people who have experienced torture and trauma. That’s the basis of their refugee application and why they’ve come to Australia,’ Hanna says. ‘Then there are clients who want to learn everything overnight. They’re eager to learn English, how to get around on public transport, how to get to the beach and become familiar with their environment. They want to be independent.’ Red Cross has a responsibility to help the most vulnerable people in society. There is little doubt that asylum seekers – who have often fled persecution and threats of death, and who have little or no family support in Australia – are among those most in need. Through the program, housing and health services are provided and children are enrolled in school. Red Cross also helps asylum seekers gain access to community language classes, emergency services, social networks and other agencies. Caseworkers like Hanna have seen firsthand how her clients’ quality of life has improved since being placed in community detention. ‘Our clients have a sense of excitement about their new environment.’ Hanna’s clients face day-to-day challenges, too. ‘People often find the first few days overwhelming,’ she says. ‘There is a transition between being placed in a detention centre to living in a community.’ While the people placed in community detention are waiting for the outcome of their visa application, Red Cross caseworkers like Hanna are there to help. ‘The families and children in our program are incredibly resilient, but it is difficult for them to start the recovery process while they are waiting for their immigration status to be resolved.’ As more clients are being placed in community detention, Red Cross is sending more volunteers and caseworkers to help them become familiar with the areas they are living in. ‘Clients often get a little bored as they are not allowed to work. The work of volunteers is a great way to help them engage with their community, especially to help them improve their English,’ Hanna says. Red Cross is also working to build positive public views of asylum seekers in Australia. ‘There is this misconception that the people in our program have done something wrong. They have done nothing wrong,’ she says. ‘They are entitled to have their basic human rights addressed.’ Red Cross will continue to support asylum seekers in this critical humanitarian response. Hanna says, ‘I admire that Red Cross took on this huge task, and I’m proud to be a part of this work that is making a real difference in vulnerable people’s lives.’ The Community Detention program is fully funded by the Australian Government through the Department of Immigration and Citizenship, which is responsible for the implementation and expansion of community detention. The Minister for Immigration and Citizenship personally decides who can live in community detention. How you can help Red Cross relies on committed volunteers. You can support those in the Community Detention program by volunteering to help them better engage with their new community. Visit www.redcross.org.au or call 1800 811 700 to get involved. Page 07
Page 1 and 2: Humanitarian Winter 2011, Issue 15
Page 3 and 4: The inside The first half of this y
Page 5 and 6: Building our capacity to support of
Page 7: A new generation of young humanitar
Page 11 and 12: Australian aid-worker Kristen Proud
Page 13 and 14: Males in Black Vice-Chair Robert Ta
Page 15 and 16: TK (Tarin Kowt) in the DMT (Detenti
Page 17 and 18: Alice Willy washes her family’s c
Page 19: In all activities, Red Cross staff,

Humanitarian - Australian Red Cross

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