Example of essay on red cross

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) was created in 1863 in Switzerland as a private agency to provide relief to war detainees (Forsythe, 2005). Originally its role was to be a humanitarian agency in times of trouble but then it took over a lot of subsidiary roles like taking care of combatants, civilians in distress, political prisoners and people separated from their families because of conflict(Forsythe, 2005). The International Red Cross functions under the basic principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, universality, unity, and voluntary service(ICRC, 1986).

Mission of the Red Cross

The core mission of the Red Cross in recent times has been to provide disaster response (Fagnoni, 2009) and humanitarian services to war victims(Basavanthappa, 2008). It provides a variety of disaster services like mass care services, human services among others. The mission statement of the Red Cross states that it will provide various services to provide relief to victims of disaster and help people prevent, prepare for and respond to emergencies. Mass care services: Services like sheltering, feeding, emergency first aid, bulk distribution of emergency items, and collection and provision of information on disaster victims to family members are part of its mass care services. Humanservices: Health and mental services, and emergency financial assistance provided during disasters are part of its human services. Other Disaster Related services: Blood donation and provision of blood during disaster come under the purview of other disaster related services. During Hurricane Katrina, America’s largest natural disaster, the mass care services of the Red Cross provided 52. 6 million meals, opened more than 1300 shelters across 27 American states, and raised 2. 1 billion dollars with the help of its 245, 000 volunteers(Fagnoni, 2009).
As its organization is centralized, the Red Cross directly sends headquarters based trained staff, volunteers, and equipment to the affected disaster site. In addition it maintains a 24 hour disaster operations center at its headquarters’(Fagnoni, 2009) and provides direct services like local Disaster Action teams (DATS), which respond to large- scale disasters(Disaster Nursing and Emergency Preparedness: For Chemical, Biological, and Radiological Terrorism and Other Hazards, 2007).

Feeding activities during a disaster

The Red Cross provides mobile kitchens at disaster sites capable of producing up to 25, 000 meals per day. It also provides pre-packaged meals, vehicles equipped to deliver meals, and develops contracts with local vendors to produce and supply hot and cold meals(Press, 2012).. Emergency response vehicles are filed with water, meals and snacks for the disaster affected populations(Halbfinger, 2012)
Shelter. The Red Cross directs the emergency response towards providing shelter for disaster victims. Victims are housed in mass care shelters like schools, churches, community centers and any other facility which can stand strong even in disasters. The disaster shelter services of the Red Cross include provision of food, individual assistance, health services, sleeping arrangements, recreation services, child care, and other miscellaneous activities. It provides various services to families with needs related to the disaster, like providing information, interpreting disaster resources, making arrangements for school for the displaced children, assisting with transportation, and helping families find housing. The Red Cross shelters protect the health and prevent disease among its residents by providing first-aids, 24- hour medical and nursing supervision, emotional support, and crisis counselling. All residents are provided sleeping accommodations in an area like a gym in the mass care shelter, with dormitory style rows of cots/mats for sleeping. Recreation services are provided for relieving tensions and improving the morale of the residents. In addition, it registers all shelter residents, looks after the administrative functions of the shelter – staffing, record-keeping, and purchasing supplies- maintenance, communications and public relations, and enforcement of safety, fire and sanitary regulations(Meyers, 1996).
In the 21st century, the ICRC has to deal with more than easing the suffering of soldiers; it has to manoeuver through criminal gangs and guerilla warfare, drones and robotic warfare which are among the many new threats to humanity. It needs to deal with various types of leaders in order to provide humanitarian aid in countries devastated by crises(Ward, 2013). Within its ranks, it faces a shortage of trained volunteers. There is no doubt that the role of non- sectarian, non- denominational volunteer groups like the Red Cross is even more relevant today than it was in the 19th century but in order to survive in a changing world, it needs a widening world perspective, cross-cultural diplomacy and a self-less trained volunteer task force.

References

Basavanthappa. (2008). Community Health Nursing (p. 1104). Jaypee Brothers Publishers. Retrieved from http://books. google. com/books? id= J3ggdC_e8TcC&pgis= 1
Disaster Nursing and Emergency Preparedness: For Chemical, Biological, and Radiological Terrorism and Other Hazards. (2007) (p. 680). Springer Publishing Company. Retrieved from http://books. google. com/books? id= EwmhaCmZzMsC&pgis= 1
Fagnoni, C. M. (2009). Mass Care in Disasters: FEMA Should Update the Red Cross Role in Catastrophic Events and More Fully Assess Voluntary Organizations’ Mass Care Capabilities: Testimony (p. 67). DIANE Publishing. Retrieved from http://books. google. com/books? id= 99gXQVMRatQC&pgis= 1
Forsythe, D. P. (2005). The Humanitarians: The International Committee of the Red Cross (p. 356). Cambridge University Press. Retrieved from http://books. google. com/books? id= cen4kujyjtYC&pgis= 1
Halbfinger, D. M. (2012, November 2). Anger Grows at the Red Cross Response to the Storm – NYTimes. com. The New York Times. New york. Retrieved from http://www. nytimes. com/2012/11/03/nyregion/anger-grows-at-the-red-cross-response-to-the-storm. html? module= Search&mabReward= relbias%3As%2C%7B%222%22%3A%22RI%3A12%22%7D
ICRC. (1986). The Fundamental Principles of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. Retrieved from http://www. icrc. org/eng/resources/documents/red-cross-crescent-movement/fundamental-principles-movement-1986-10-31. htm
Meyers, D. (1996). Disaster Response and Recovery: A Handbook for Mental Health Professionals (p. 144). DIANE Publishing. Retrieved from http://books. google. com/books? id=-sZPLe8CClwC&pgis= 1
Press, T. A. (2012). Mali – Red Cross Prepares Food Aid – NYTimes. com. The New York Times, p. 1. Retrieved from http://www. nytimes. com/2012/07/17/world/africa/mali-red-cross-prepares-food-aid. html? module= Search&mabReward= relbias%3As%2C%7B%222%22%3A%22RI%3A12%22%7D&_r= 0
Ward, O. (2013). Fresh dangers facing International Red Cross in 21st century | Toronto Star. Retrieved December 09, 2014, from http://www. thestar. com/news/world/2013/03/25/fresh_dangers_facing_international_red_cross_in_21st_century. html