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There is a lot to being a Red Cross volunteer.
Just ask Humphrey Blinker, a volunteer
with the Suriname Red Cross (SRC).
Suriname (population
470,784) is mainly a Dutch-speaking South American territory
bordered by Guyana to the west, French Guiana to the east
and Brazil to the south.
Humphrey, 36, lives in the Kwatta
district of Suriname’s
capital, Paramaribo, and works as a finance administrator.
He joined the Suriname Red Cross back in 1997.
At the time, he was receiving medical training from another
organization but one of the sessions was in First Aid and
the instructor was from the Suriname Red Cross.
The instructor
spoke about the Movement, its work and principles and invited
Humphrey to a volunteer meeting. He accepted and after
attending a few meetings decided to become a volunteer.
Now a First Aid instructor himself, he says volunteering
has given him many opportunities to help others.
In May 2006, torrential rains flooded the entire south
and parts of the central Amazonian Lowlands of Suriname.
Up to 175 thatched-hut villages were submerged under as
much as two meters of muddy water. Some were so badly flooded
that only the hut roofs could be seen from the air.
Close to 25,000 people were directly affected as the flooded
area covered around 30,000 square kilometers.
In a combined
response with the National Co-ordination Centre for Disasters,
boats, planes and helicopters were used to reach stranded
people.
Glen Wijngaarde, Director General
of the Suriname Red Cross (SRC), said at the time “This is the first
time the Suriname Red Cross has had to deal with such major
flooding. I cannot remember the last time we had flooding
in Suriname”.
The National Society swung into action
and Blinker was one of many volunteers who were thrown
in at the deep end – so to speak.
He was among a few volunteers
who underwent three days of intense training in Water
and Sanitation (WatSan)) and other aspects of disaster
response like logistics and relief.
The training was conducted by personnel
from Het Nederlandse Rode Kruis (Netherlands Red Cross)
and disaster management delegate Thomas Doyle of the International
Federation’s Panama-based Pan-American Disaster Response
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| Humphrey
Blinker |
“It
was a good experience overall,” says
Humphrey. “I helped
coordinate WatSan training for communities and the distribution of hygiene packs.”
PADRU had chartered a
Panama-to-Suriname flight carrying 4,000 hygiene
kits funded by the Netherlands Red Cross and
European Commission Humanitarian Aid Department
(DG ECHO).
Humphrey said because
the SRC is well known for its work in the community
and other related activities, people in the
flooded-out villages were receptive to their
help.
“They preferred
us to other organizations because they know
we are always there to help.”
SRC personnel returned
to the areas a few months after the floods
subsided, and were warmly welcomed, some villagers
even asking them to visit more often.
Humphrey says on a personal
level, he has learnt how to work with others. “I
have met more people, and more people know
you and recognise you. I have learnt about
the Red Cross and in particular the seven fundamental
principles. I have taken them to heart and
even use them to resolve situations in my daily
work.”
But there is more to being
a volunteer than personal growth, says Humphrey.
“Volunteering is
not so much about what you do as a volunteer
or what you can do for people. Yes, it is a
good feeling to help others. You do it out
of love. You appreciate when people return
to say thank you. By becoming a volunteer,
you the individual, help to build the nation,
your country.”
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