Earlier this year I met Sir Nicholas Young at the United Nations Forum in London – If you didn’t go, you ready did miss out – As a result of our ‘brief encounter’ I received an invitation to visit the International Division of the British Red Cross, at their headquarters, in the capital. This was the perfect opportunity to find out firsthand, about the Societies overseas agenda, motivation and the many humanitarian challenges they face in the 21st century. The biggest challenge was no surprise…an increase in natural disasters…with recent earthquakes in Haiti and Chile, flooding in Pakistan, international displacement and ethnic fighting in Kyrgyzstan…there was no better time to try and understand more about these issues!
At the beginning of August shocking images of Pakistani families salvaging possessions from the rising flood waters started to fill our newspapers, news bulletins and thoughts. The British people – as they always do – responded straight away by generously donating to the Disasters Emergency Committee ‘Pakistan Floods Appeal’, so far donating £42 million. The British Red Cross is one of the larger members of the 13 humanitarian aid agencies under the DEC umbrella, and thus, getting a large percentage of the funds donated. This should have meant, I was about to walk into an office of chaotic people, under immense pressure, to respond to the most recent major natural disaster!!! However, it was the complete opposite; surprisingly calm and collective. In fact, “Keep Calm and Carry On” came to mind.
To be continued…
