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Volunteer
action was at the heart of the concept of the Red Cross
when it was founded. At the battle of Solferino in 1859,
a young Henry Dunant organised village women to assist
the wounded and dying who lay deserted by their own forces.
He returned home to write the book A Memory of Solferino, which
led several years later to the founding of the Red Cross.
"Would it not be possible,
in time of peace and quiet, to form relief societies
for the purpose of having care given to the wounded in
wartime by zealous, devoted and thoroughly qualified
volunteers?" he wrote.
"For work of this kind, paid
help is not what is wanted...There is need, therefore,
for voluntary orderlies and volunteer nurses, zealous,
trained and experienced, whose position would be recognised
by the commanders or armies in the field, and their mission
facilitated and supported."
From those words, the whole Red
Cross/Red Crescent Movement grew, spreading from country
to country as local people came together, founded a society,
elected a volunteer governance board and started to recruit
volunteers. |
