Tomorrow we have to decide between two concepts for the Irish Red Cross summer appeal: do we go with one focused on kids being rescued by an heroic volunteer, with the letter telling the hero-volunteers story; or, an ‘incident book’ – a medley of four stories that describe real-life incidents that our volunteers come across, with a cover letter from our Head of National Services describing the need and demand for our services over the coming months?

Both could work. Both will be based on true-life stories provided to us by our volunteers, with certain details changed to protect identities. This will be particularly the case if we go with one focused on a story around a child. Barnardos do this very well. The images they here in Ireland use for their current campaign are all taken from a UK photo library so as to avoid any identification of the clients here in Ireland.

And my favorite exposition of the hero myth is by RNLI, who have been doing it successfully for years. Ken Burnett tells a fantastic story about the second generation of that particular campaign, where he sat in on the photo shoot. The volunteers had a bucket of water thrown over their heads and just at that moment the photo was taken. Love it!

The hero-rescues-child concept has the potential to be emotionally compelling – important as the Irish Red Cross is not as well known in the national psyche for domestic response, a point I know many of our volunteers find frustrating. Yet this is the experience around all of Europe, where relatively speaking, domestic emergencies are rarer. In countries such as the US or Canada, conversely, the public often know less about the overseas work of say, the American Red Cross, and associates them more with domestic programmes that focus on responding to tornados or hurricanes etc. I was very moved recently listening to a story where after a twister lifted her home clean away and cut an astonishing swathe through their town, one woman burst into tears when the Red Cross volunteer showed up: “I knew you’d come’.

An ‘incident book’ on the other hand – containing stories of different rescues – some in villages, some mountain rescues, some responses to traffic accidents – would be richer in detail and provide a more varied and better overview of all Irish Red Cross work here in Ireland. Yet would it be compelling? I cant help feeling we are then asking people to support the Irish Red Cross, a more corporate and less personal idea than supporting a specific person (the volunteer), who has saved this child’s life. The latter is the Irish Red Cross’s work in action – but in story form.

And why a domestic theme? Well, we are still in the middle of the Niger(West Africa) Appeal. It is going very well, which is very satisfying as the people there need it so much. The need is so compelling and the world so uninterested that I’m proud we are responding. But we operate domestically as well as internationally (a unique position in my experience – I can’t think of any other Irish charity that does as I write) So I try to balance the appeals to look after all our beneficiaries, to use the jargon.

So, what to do? Which to choose? The copywriter and designer are waiting on an answer. The data is ready and the printer booked. An Post have us penciled in and the mail house is ready.

Check your mail early July…

The James O’Loughlin Perpetual Trophy for the Cork Area Volunteer of the year presented by the Cork City Branch to      Hannah “Ma” Sheahan by Branch Chairman Liam O Connell, also pictured (left to right) Peggy Mangan (treasurer), John Connolly (Bantry Branch Hon. Sec.), Ger McAuliffe ( Cork Area Chairman), Peter McDaid (hon. Sec.), and David Walsh (Unit Officer).

The first recipient of the James O’Loughlin Perpetual Trophy for the Irish Red Cross Cork Area Volunteer of the year, presented by the Cork City Branch in memory of the late James O’Loughlin, is Mrs. Hannah Sheahan, which would have delighted James as they were great friends and colleagues, between them giving over one hundred years of voluntary service to the Irish Red Cross. James was a long serving and much loved member of the Cork City branch who like Hannah was dedicated to his branch and the organisation as a whole and who sadly passed while serving as both the City and Area  Community officer.

Hannah or “Ma” as she is affectionately known is still an active member in her sixty first year of unbroken service and was one of the founding members of her beloved Mallow Branch. Through the years she has held many positions within the organisation from volunteer right through to Central Council all of which she served with great distinction, integrity and selfless dedication, on the way inspiring and nurturing many of the great volunteers we have today. As well as the great work she does as a volunteer within our organisation, Ma is also active within her own community and is highly regarded in the Mallow area, where she has been inducted in the Mallow Hall of Fame. A founding member of both the Mallow St. Patricks Day Parade and the Mallow day care centre for the elderly, she has shown the true meaning of volunteerism, generosity and caring for others, and always with a warm smile and a great sense of humour.

Her famous catchphrase “we seek no honour we seek no pay” is well known, and one she has lived up to all her life. But last year at a function to celebrate her sixty years of service to The Irish Red Cross she received a letter from the President of Ireland honouring her outstanding work, an honour she so deserves after all the years of selflessly putting others in need before herself. This Trophy is in recognition of the high regard she is held in by her fellow volunteers and for the great work she has done and is still doing within the Irish Red Cross. True to form, in accepting the trophy Ma said that it was a great honour for her but she believed that there were volunteers more deserving of the award than she, a typical response from a very modest lady.

The Cork City Branch would like to congratulate Ma, and thank all those who nominated people for the award, all deserving their nominations. They would also like to thank the adjudicators and the Cork Area Committee for their co-operation.

Hi, my name is Darryl Coen and I am a volunteer with the Irish Red Cross. I live with my wife Angie and two girls Abigail and Philippa in Slane, Co. Meath.

I have volunteered for 21 years now for the Irish Red Cross and I am looking forward to a lot more. My interaction with the Irish Red Cross started out in secondary school while I was completing my Gaisce bronze award and I wanted to complete a first aid course as one of the skills for the award, I was directed to the local Irish Red Cross branch/unit in Slane. The members there, trained me in basic first  aid and I got a liking to this ability to save lives. I ended up joining the local branch and they brought me up through all the levels of first aid to instructor. It was then I started to realise that this was more than just about first aid. It is about a local group in the local community that is part of a large National Society, which in turn is part of a worldwide Humanitarian Organisation with volunteers of over 100 million.

The possibilities are endless within the Irish Red Cross. I have made lifelong friends through the Irish Red Cross both here inIrelandand worldwide. I have been lucky enough to be a member of the Irish Red Cross Youth Working Group and have enjoyed some of the most exhilarating days on Youth Fun Days to the most thought provoking days on Anti-racism awareness sessions. The Irish Red Cross has taught me to be a more confident person in my ability to speak in front of groups and meetings, it has taught me to be a good planner and people motivator.

At the moment I am volunteering as the Regional Director of Units for Dublin Mid Leinster. This means that I, along with the Area Directors of South County Dublin, Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown, Wicklow, Kildare, Laois, Offaly, Westmeath and Longford ensure that we have an efficient service in place to service all our clients’ needs, from providing First Aid cover locally, through to being able to respond to requests from the HSE for assistance during major incidents (such as the cold winter two years ago).

The Red Cross movement through its seven principles Humanity, Impartiality, Neutrality,Independence, Voluntary Service, Universality and Unity, are a great signpost for me as an individual to be a better person in our society.

There has been a lot in the news lately about the campaign across the globe for marriage equality.  In the United States, Barrack Obama recently said in an ABC interview that he personally believed that “same sex couples should be able to get married”.  Sadly, incidences of discrimination and even violence against LGBT people continue to occur on a daily basis around the world.

Today [17 May] is International Day against Homophobia – a day that I hope in the future will become obsolete.  In Ireland, I think we are moving in the right direction but we still have a long way to go.  Research shows that homophobic bullying continues to be a major problem especially for young LGBT people.  Four out of every five people interviewed for Supporting LGBT Lives: A study of the mental health and well-being of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people* had been verbally abused because of their LGBT identity and 25 per cent had been physically assaulted because of their LGBT identity.  In other countries around the world, being LGBT remains a criminal offence and many LGBT people live in fear for their lives simply because of who they are.

People facing persecution because of their sexual orientation can claim asylum in Ireland (and other countries).  However, agencies working with LGBT asylum seekers, report that people unfortunately are afraid to talk about these issues and often don’t initially disclose this reason for their asylum application.  Migrants, especially vulnerable migrant groups such as asylum seekers often face numerous difficulties and obstacles.  The experience of being an asylum seeker coupled with the experience of being LGBT can be extremely arduous for people to cope with.

At Irish Red Cross, guided by our fundamental principles we are committed to fostering openness, understanding and diversity.  Irish Red Cross Youth has a number of initiatives aimed a tackling homophobia either directly or indirectly through our Positive Images Project [LSC2] and our Anti-bullying Campaign[LSC3] .

For the first time, IRCY will take part in Dublin’s PRIDE parade in June this year.  A self-nominated group of youth members and youth leaders from all over Ireland will join members of the National Youth Working Group and the Youth Department on an open-top bus for the parade.  A number of IRC youth and adult members are part of Ireland’s LGBT community and I for one am proud to stand up against homophobia and celebrate the identity of my LGBT friends and colleagues.

The acceptance of all young people, regardless of race, religion, gender or sexual orientation, is in line with the fundamental principles and values of the Red Cross.  This message also underpins the work of the Positive Images Project which aims to create awareness amongst young people of the difficulties faced by vulnerable migrant groups which as outlined above can include LGBT people fleeing persecution because who they love.

Happy International Day against Homophobia and if you would like any more information about anything in this blog please don’t hesitate to contact me directly or comment below.

*Mayock, et al. Supporting LGBT Lives: A study of the mental health and well-being of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people (2009) was commissioned by BeLonG To Youth Services and GLEN (Gay and Lesbian Equality Network), funded by the HSE’s National Office for Suicide Prevention and conducted by the Childrens’ Research Centre, Trinity College Dublin and the School of Education, University College Dublin.

Hi I’m Orla Murphy. I’ve been involved in Ballinora/Ballincollig Red Cross since I was little, acting as a more than willing patient for my sister and her friends in their cadet first aid classes!

I think this is the best way to see if you’re interested in first aid as you see firsthand what it’s all about and learn so much from the more experienced first aiders.

I acted as team mascot during their competitions (FACE 2002 was my European debut!) and the excitement of the big occasion attracted me to the Red Cross!

When I was 10 I joined the Red Cross, with about a dozen more of my classmates, enrolled in a basic first aid course. That year I was leader in the Cork Area and All-Ireland competitions, winning both. I absolutely loved competitions, and won the individual cadet All-Ireland the following year.

I think competitions gave us great incentive and our group stuck together despite moving on to different secondary schools and becoming interested in other activities, thanks to the Red Cross.

We later went on to win the novice team All-Ireland, and I think having accomplished all of this together we had confidence to get even more involved in the Red Cross.

It’s only after you use your first aid skills in real life that you realise how invaluable your knowledge is!! I do a lot of horse riding and over the years I’ve tended to fellow equestrians with broken bones, concussion – and I unfortunately had to do some self-diagnoses!! People always say “I feel so useless; I wish I knew what to do in the situation!” I know it’s easy to take the basics as common knowledge but even knowing how to properly dial an ambulance is crucial in an emergency, and something which would easily faze non-first aiders in an emergency!!

Next to real-life experience both on duty and in everyday life I’m most proud of competing at Senior Competition when I was 18 and being part of such an experienced but welcoming team that gave me confidence, encouragement and put my ability to the test!! It was also my first time competing alongside my sister (who trained me as a cadet!) so that was really nice having such support on the team!

Since I joined the branch we have made visits to the local Nursing Home, went carol-singing at Christmas, had parties, table quizzes and went on day trips. We also had non-first aid classes where we did team-building exercises.

Having graduated from cadets we went on to help with the training of younger members and this was probably the most rewarding aspect for all of us- seeing how others could benefit from our skills.

Seeing how the next generation enjoyed community events is a great aspect of the Red Cross!

In 2010 I was lucky enough to attend the Austrian Youth Red Cross international camp in Langenlois, which was a fantastic experience! There I met lifelong friends who I’ve kept in you touch with (thanks Facebook!)

In Austria I learned from youth members of other societies, from fundraising techniques, to youth activities and games, merchandise and branding to community involvement, the camp culminated in a Festival of Nations and that’s exactly what it was from start to finish!

Earlier this year I was a leader at Youth on the Run in Iceland which was a surreal experience! Again the opportunity to meet new people from different societies was beneficial, stimulating and most of all… FUN! Experiencing the Northern Lights firsthand was breath taking and visiting the dream-like Blue Lagoon was a once in a lifetime event-which I never would have experienced if it wasn’t for IRCY! The geographical landmarks there were awesome and provided the perfect backdrop to such a special event! It was an exhausting week but the Irish contingent who set out as strangers really did return as a family and that was worth all the Northern Lights!

I can’t wait to become more and more involved with the youth of the Red Cross in the future, both locally and on a wider scale with the new HIV Awareness course, first aid classes, community events and hopefully, an Irish Young Refugees event! Interacting with young people has to be the most exciting and rewarding aspect of the Red Cross. Sharing knowledge, meeting new people and making new friends while having so much fun- what more could you ask for?

Colm Byrne, Head of International, Irish Red Cross

It is poignant this week that Ireland marks National Famine Memorial Day at the same time that yet again graphic news reports highlight food shortages and suffering of millions of people this time across the Western Sahel region of Africa.

Ireland’s experience of famine, passed from generation to generation on this island and elsewhere across the globe in the Irish Diaspora through a multitude of cultural references of poet, artist and song, has remained firm in the national consciousness for more than a century and a half. Such an enduring collective point of reference has in no small part been sustained by an education system rightly proud of a rich heritage but also by an interpretation of history that has importantly placed the concept of hunger not simply as a lack of food but as part of a broader social, cultural and political context that leaves the most impoverished segments of the population especially vulnerable when access to food is undermined.

While it is perhaps ironic that the particular vulnerability caused by a lack of land ownership in the mid-nineteenth century drove an until recent obsession with property that might yet create a new poverty, the collective consciousness has always remained true. This is evidenced by an ever present spirit of giving whenever crises occur, especially famine, even translating into continued public expression of support for overseas aid despite the many challenges at home in a recent survey commissioned by Dóchas, the association of Irish Non-Governmental Development Organisations. Indeed, the survey indicated a national pride in the Ireland’s reputation as a donor. Interestingly, the very same survey indicated that the public is unsure about the difference such aid makes to the lives of those they wish to help which might even point to the suggestion that the response to crises might be more genetically or culturally engrained than one might think. A reflex response even..??

This prompts the question of how might Ireland respond were the impact of aid to be better demonstrated. The challenge for many agencies in communicating with their general audience is that communication efforts are driven by the need to engage an audience amongst an increasing volume of information flow, or perhaps more accurately, competing information overflow, where frustratingly only the most extreme stands apart. As such, only the most graphic images sourced at the height of an emergency tend to be deemed newsworthy, go mainstream and yield financial support for later, and frankly more costly, response efforts. This is a phenomena known only too well to the Red Cross and other aid agencies who this year, despite not inconsiderable effort, and as last year in the Horn of Africa, are only now seeing broader international interest in the emerging food crisis in the Sahel where cheaper and timely but less dramatic preventative action would have proven more effective in meeting that priority which must count above all others: reducing human suffering.

The reality remains that Ireland’s collective national conscience, re-enforced again this week by a Famine memorial ceremony in the port town of Drogheda from where so many on this island departed in search of a better life, has proven time and time again a source of empathy with those facing similar hardship. The challenge remains to engage without interruption what is the most fertile ground of well informed hearts and minds already sensitised to the fact, lest we forget, that hunger and famine is an outcome of a more complex reality, before that hunger and famine itself becomes reality. Aid agencies are not blameless for the plethora of jargon ridden communiqués but do struggle to be heard and the fact remains, the challenge to be heard is theirs. The challenge of hunger in the Sahel too is theirs because they have chosen as humanitarians to accept it but the responsibility is a broader one.

Despite the efforts of a select few, there was of course no humanitarian intervention as we know it today to prevent or substantively alleviate human suffering during Ireland’s Great Famine. And it is inappropriate if not crude and impossible to ever compare human suffering even more so across centuries but for many in the Sahel at this time, the prospect of empty fields, wells and pots and worse still the fear of being forgotten is not a distant one. Their challenges stand still greater. And not for them this time even as a landlocked country the option of emigration as regional conflict restricts opportunities for the movement of labour abroad. Nor for them the comfort of land ownership as climate change, seasonal drought and desertification increasing encroach on what productive resources they once had. The causes of hunger are many and complex lest we forget….and we must never forget.

Volunteer Week: Agnes Johnson

My name is Agnes Johnson. After bringing up 3 Daughters and 1 Son, I joined the Irish Red Cross and did a Therapeutic Hand Care Course and became a Therapeutic Care Volunteer Practitioner. I have been providing the Therapeutic Hand Care Service for 20 years now.

The service consists of a manicure, head, neck and shoulder massage. Over the years I have provided the service in hospitals, nursing homes, hospices, day-care centres, information and awareness days for a variety of organisations and groups.

Giving this great treatment is a great joy for me as it is a way to communicate care through touch. The fact is that you are spending one-to-one time with a person, and lending them a good listening ear.

It is a wonderful feeling to know that in my giving I receive so much in return .In those 20 years of service I have achieved so much in my life. From being very shy I have become very assertive and confident through becoming a Therapeutic Care Instructor.

Over the years I have trained hundreds of wonderful Volunteers from all walks of life – all giving their free time to Volunteering.

I get a wonderful feeling at the end of the day to know that I have achieved something good for someone maybe by helping to relieve their stress, those with arthritis, special needs or been there as their friend.

Thank you Irish Red Cross for changing my life for being a good and better person.

Agnes Johnson is a member of the Fairview Branch of the Irish Red Cross in Dublin. She is a member of the Community Services Working Group and a Therapeutic Hand Care Instructor.

Colm Byrne, Head of International, Irish Red Cross

We at Irish Red Cross have spoken much in recent times about the importance of the protection of humanitarian personnel in situations of armed conflict. Humanitarian personnel are afforded protection under the law of armed conflict or international humanitarian law (IHL) on the basis that they are not taking direct part in hostilities. Such protection is also afforded under both treaty-based and customary IHL to the sick, wounded, shipwrecked, prisoners and civilians, as well as religious and civil defence personnel. It also likewise applies, in this the week of World Press Freedom Day,  to journalists who in the course of their work often seek out military activity and thus are exposed to increased danger of death or injury.

Without doubt, with advances in global information and communications technology, it is ever more difficult to determine who is in fact a journalist in the traditional sense of the word but regardless, the concept of protection of those not taking direct part in hostilities remains fundamentally the same. It is also increasingly perceived that access to such technology is making the world a flatter place and accurate impartial reporting from conflict environments can have a significant impact on both local and global perceptions, and hence outcomes, or armed conflicts. As a consequence, there is concern in some quarters that journalists face a greater danger today of being deliberately targeted, or obstructed, in their capacity as communicators or influencers or shapers of opinion, rather than as an unintended consequence of military activity.

HOTLINE: assistance for journalists on dangerous assignments

The welfare of media professionals who may be attacked, injured, taken captive or disappear in wartime or in other situations of violence and respect for their protection under IHL is very much a concern for the Red Cross and needless to say is an important component of efforts to raise broader understanding amongst arms bearers, journalists and the broader civilian population alike. What is often less known is that since 1985, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has provided a humanitarian service in the form of a permanent confidential hotline  available to journalists themselves, their employers and families to contact ICRC who then may be able to take prompt and effective action in accordance with their mandate in areas where the ICRC is conducting humanitarian activities.

Media professionals are often exposed to serious danger when reporting from war zones or other areas associated with armed violence. The ICRC operates a hotline enabling journalists, their families and the media organizations they work for to request assistance if they are wounded, detained or missing. This brochure explains how to get in touch with the ICRC and how the organization might be able to help

Since the beginning of 2011, over 60 media professionals working in violence-affected areas have requested the ICRC for assistance. Such statistics and in particular recent high profile incidents involving journalists in conflict settings, competition amongst news agencies for ever more dramatic and higher impact imagery as well as the increasing prominence of the embedded journalist would suggest a convergence of factors likely to make this an ever more relevant and complex topic of debate both now and in the foreseeable future.

Should you wish to earn more about IHL and the protection of journalists, please click here.

Media professionals are often exposed to serious danger when reporting from war zones or other areas associated with armed violence. The ICRC operates a hotline enabling journalists, their families and the media organizations they work for to request assistance if they are wounded, detained or missing. This brochure explains how to get in touch with the ICRC and how the organization might be able to help.

International justice as exemplified by the decision in the Charles Taylor case at the Special Court for Sierra Leone late last month [26 April] highlights once more how the proliferation of arms in areas of conflict around the world is a significant contributor to the displacement, injury, rape, and terrorisation of civilians. Small arms and a ready supply of ammunition are particularly problematic. The ICRC reports that in some areas of the world, even after a conflict has ended, weapons are so easy to obtain and violence so prevalent that civilians continue to face many of the same threats as during it.

When listening to the Taylor decision being delivered, one of the things that struck me was the significance of the trade in weapons to what occurred in Sierra Leone. Without a supply of arms and ammunition, many of the horrific violations of international humanitarian law (IHL) against civilians may not have occurred.

This July, members of the United Nations, including Ireland, will meet in New York for the UN Conference on the Arms Trade Treaty. Hopefully by the end of this conference, a treaty text will have been agreed. Underpinning such a treaty must be a desire to reduce the human cost of the availability of weapons by setting clear norms for the transfer of conventional arms and ammunition.

Under the Geneva Conventions, States are obliged to ensure respect for IHL. Inherent with this obligation is a duty to make every effort to ensure that the arms and ammunition they transfer do not end up in the hands of persons likely to use them in violation of IHL.

Until weapons are less easily available, serious violations of IHL are likely to continue around the world and provision of humanitarian assistance to effected populations will continue to be endangered.