Found at: http://www.anguillaguide.com/article/articleprint/4079/-1/140/
|
RED CROSS OFFICIALS VISIT ANGUILLA Anguillians Urged To Become Members
|
Two Red Cross officials, with international and regional responsibilities, have been visiting Anguilla and other islands this week to help boost the work of the various associated organisations.
|
|
L-R: Paul Jenkins, Marie St. John and Steve McDowal
|
The officials held a press briefing in Anguilla on Tuesday, November 14. One of them is Paul Jenkins, Head of the National Societies and Support Programmes of the British Red Cross, in London, with responsibility for the overseas Red Cross branches. The other is Jill Marie St. John from the Sub-regional Branch Office of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and based in Trinidad. She has been to Anguilla on various occasions advising on local Red Cross initiatives.
Mr. Jenkins, who is new to his post, is on a familiarisation visit to the Caribbean. Replying to a reporter’s question, he said HIV/AIDS was an important issue of concern to him. “I think it is pretty well established that prevalence rates in the Caribbean are at a worrying level,” he commented. “Having spent the last 25 years working in Africa, the last thing we want to see in the Caribbean is the devastation that HIV/AIDS has caused particularly in Southern Africa.
“I think there is an important role that the Red Cross can play in terms of this disease, particularly in the issue of peer education because the important thing is for people to have an understanding and awareness. By having that awareness, people are empowered to ensure that they do not become infected…You need some simple messages to be conveyed effectively to these people and I think the Red Cross is extraordinarily good at the socialisation of passing messages to people and I think we need to be engaged in that.”
He said the big challenge facing some of the small overseas branches was that they had very few paid staff. He observed that many persons were providing a huge amount of voluntary service, giving a great deal of their personal time. “There is only so much time that an individual can give,” he went on. “People have to earn a living. They have family and social lives and I think we have to recognise that and accept that most of the work of our overseas branches will be done by volunteers and be realistic about what we expect of them.”
Mr. Jenkins added: “We could do more if we have more volunteers. I would say to the people of Anguilla: get involved in the Red Cross. Be volunteers because there is an enormous amount you can do, and not only that. There is an enormous amount of satisfaction you can get from being a First Aid Volunteer. We need people with a diverse range of skills and experience and the more people that get involved, the more we can do.”
Ms Marie St. John said among other matters: “The re-introduction of Junior Red Cross is something that I would like to see in the primary schools. If each student is exposed to this, by the time they leave fifth form at secondary school, they would have been exposed to the gamut of First Aid and CPR training. If they all were to join the Red Cross, we all would have a stronger Red Cross for it.”
She implored the people of the island in general to join the Red Cross and to do all they could to promote its work.
President of the Anguilla Red Cross, Steve McDowall, pointed out that for the first time a group of students at the Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School had been organised to undertake voluntary work with the local branch. He invited persons in the wider community to become involved also, noting that they were only required to give a small portion of their time to community work.
The programme for Mr. Jenkin’s visit included courtesy calls on Acting Governor Stanley Reid, Chief Minister, The Hon. Osbourne Fleming, and Disaster Preparedness Adviser, Roger Bellers, as well as a meeting with the Executive Board of the Anguilla Red Cross.