The day is marked every 8th May. The day marks the birth of Henry Dunart the founder of the Red Cross movement. You can learn more about the history of the day from this link http://www.indiacelebrating.com/events/world-red-cross-day/ There are over 170 Red Cross and Red Crescent societies worldwide and their mission is to provide relief to victims of disasters and help people to prevent, prepare for and respond to emergencies. The Kenya Red cross society works with volunteers spread throughout major towns in the country. It carries out blood donation awareness and recruits donors to ensure adequate blood supplies throughout the country. The society is involved in provision of disaster relief aid and promoting preparedness for instance in cases of bomb blasts, accident, civil wars, during drought and floods. The society also leads in offering first aid services and training to save life. The first aid teams offer help during public functions, games, riots and whenever there is injury. Suggested activities
- Look around for potential areas that are a health hazard that may cause injury to people. These include branches of trees that hung dangerously, open holes, sharp objects and pollutants. Take action to prevent occurrence of an injury or ill health.
- Donate blood to the needy.
- Have a demonstration on first aid procedures.
- Take students and members of the community to a nearby road or river and demonstrate on safely precautions such as crossing the road or river.
- Recruit volunteers to be involved in addressing environment problems at school or within the community such as planting of trees and promoting cleanliness.
- Invite a guest speaker to talk about the activities of the Red Cross and disaster management.
- Write an essay or summary notes on how you celebrated the world Red Cross Day publicise your success on this blog.
For further Information, contact: International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (https://www.ifrc.org) Kenya Red Cross society (https://www.kenyaredcross.org) @ Ayub Macharia 2014