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Herald Reporter
“Everything we do, comes from the heart!”
This was the theme at this year’s belated commemoration of the World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day in Chinhoyi last weekend, a day dedicated to celebrate the work done by millions of Red Cross volunteers in different communities globally.
The day is commemorated annually on May 8.
Speeches by various speakers all lauded the volunteers whom they called the practical drivers of the Red Cross and Red Crescent societies the world over.
The Zimbabwe Red Cross Society national president Mr Edson Mlambo said:
“We are grateful to our volunteers who are truly the cadres of humanity and strive to serve their respective communities.
“As a volunteer organisation we thrive on their services and without it we would be paralysed, so a big thank you to these wonderful men and women.
“We also urge you who are gathered to consider becoming a volunteer too and together we can achieve many feats.”
The head of country cluster delegation for Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies Mr John Roche said:
“May 8 is celebrated by millions of Red Cross and Red Crescent volunteers and staff around the world in honour of the birth of Henry Dunant, whose vision and passion for humanity led to the creation of the worldwide Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.
“It is guaranteed that every day in almost all regions and communities in almost every country in the world, there are countless Red Cross and Red Crescent staff and volunteers who are carrying forward Henry Dunant’s determination to provide hope and dignity in the midst of despair to people in vulnerable situation without distinction or thought of personal gain.”
One such volunteer who was among those honoured with an award on the day was Shurugwi teacher and Red Cross volunteer Mr Bernard Sharara (56).
“Humanitarian volunteerism is my call. My passion in humanitarian volunteerism started in 1985 when I started training as a teacher at Morgenster Teacher’s College in Masvingo. We started a small Red Cross club where we would volunteer to assist around the Morgenster community.
“When I completed training, I was deployed to Shurugwi where I again started a Red Cross club and recruited pupils and other teachers. We also mobilized some funds and started a woodlot, which was a practical and crucial project to do in an area where deforestation was rampant.
“By then Shurugwi was not yet a Red Cross district and was operating under Gweru. Together with other likeminded volunteers, we successfully lobbied for Shurugwi to be district,” said Mr Sharara.
He said during his tenure as chairperson, he set up 10 woodlots in the Shurugwi area and mobilized out of school youths to form soccer teams to keep them out of mischief.
“In the 90s, HIV was causing havoc in communities. Through my volunteerism, Shurugwi started what became a best-practice home-based care programme in the late 90s to early 2000.
“We also ran nutritional gardens that helped fight malnutrition among the sick and children,” he said.
After a change of leadership, Mr Sharara said he bounced back in 2021 to find an almost extinct Red Cross in Shurugwi.
“I have to start from zero and today, we have 21 branches with fully paid up membership and a growing number of volunteers. We have resuscitated 10 nutrition gardens and some of these are now donating produce to Zvamawande Clinic and Makara Children’s Home here in Shurugwi,” said Mr Sharara.
He said he was pleasantly surprised to win an award for the work that he does effortless.
Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, who was guest of honour also paid tribute to volunteers who worked in the humanitarian sector.
“In this complex time, we need more than ever to ground ourselves and return to the root and meaning of the Red Cross founding humanitarian principle, “humanity”. To do so, we would like to focus on one simple and invaluable value, the best form: kindness. This impetus to care for others is the impulsion that is at the origin of the Red Cross and Red Crescent idea, it is what brings hope even when it is hard to see a light. Kindness is the best form of humanity, it is human nature.
And today globally, we honour the many women and men who are selfless in their acts of serving people who are faced with harsh realities brought on by conflict, wars, violence, devastating weather conditions and food insecurity,” said VP Chiwenga.
Online Reporter