Stories of inspiration, strength and kindness from around the world. Meet our volunteers, aid workers, staff and the people they support through tough times.
After two attacks on his community, Abdalla lost his son, home and livelihood; but he survived.
“I used to have a toy shop in Damascus. Making children smile as I help the doctors with vaccinations makes me happy while I'm here.”
Adam has farming in his blood. But with a drought hitting hard he is worried what the future holds.
Agaba Derrick uses science to save lives. “If the refugees can't have clean water then life will not be good for them,” he says.
“I hadn’t dreamt of becoming a nurse. I hadn’t pictured myself dressing wounds by lamplight with a little red cross embroidered over my heart.
“When we moved here, it was a big change. Our family back home is very close but we didn’t know anyone here ...
"The change I had was through sport, through boxing, stick fighting and kick boxing.
“Some people really like the drama and they come up to us to tell us that they want to change their behaviour after watching the performance,"
Barnabe, who surely has one of the toughest gigs around, has many reasons to smile this week.
“My first memories as a child was my mum and dad operating a young drop-in space in the city during the 50s and 60s …
Meet Cesarina, we call her ‘Mama Federation’ and she surely has Red Cross in her veins.
“Even kids need to be prepared. If they know how to give first aid and what to do when there’s a typhoon ...
Christina, one of our brave volunteers in South Sudan, teaches people how to maintain hygiene in difficult conditions.
“I’ve chosen to be a nurse because it means giving hope to patients.”
"When we arrived there was nothing here, just mud …
It’s the human moments that make all the difference.
“There are a lot of left over mines from the Soviet times ...
Somaliland’s no longer in the grip of a life-threatening cholera outbreak thanks to the hard work of people like Dr Abdillahi.
Dylan Lewis lost two of his footy team members to suicide.
Elsin has her sights set on a brighter future. “I want to become a doctor one day."
“Everything was flattened. There was nothing left save for the shells of a few concrete buildings."
”This criminalisation of compassion is extremely worrying and could undermine more than a century of humanitarian standards and norms.
Fudin has had trouble sleeping at night ever since a series of massive earthquakes hit his village.
“That day was desperation. The city collapsed." When a massive earthquake hit Central Mexico in September ...
“I came here 30 days ago, after eleven days of walking.”
Musician, artist and Auslan student, Hannah-Rose is a woman of many talents
“Smiling alone cannot express how happy I am, because I have never received any help like this in my life.”
“There’s damage everywhere. The thing that has really struck me is the level of destruction a category 2 cyclone can cause.”
This is Hemi, he's a bit of legend in our world.
"I was operated on for hernia and when I survived I found this cap and felt that I deserved it."
“Understandably, people are scared. It’s an incredibly tough time for them and we are trying to keep them safe.”
“The word famine is not used lightly," says aid worker Jess. She’s recently returned from East Africa ...
Venturing into countries at war, aid worker Joe Cropp has many stories to tell. “I’m a humanitarian reporter and storyteller.
If resilience wears a human face, the chances are you’re looking at it. Meet John Paul, a farmer and father-of-five.
After three months working in Libya without pay, Jon wasn’t sure things could get worse. But they did.
“We called her Light because of how she has made us feel,” says Joy of her three-day-old baby girl.
"Charlie Olara, my son, was my firstborn. He went missing in 1998."
After her dad died and her mum left to find work, Karabo became a surrogate parent for her two younger sisters.
“My father woke me and (we) went to my brother’s house … I was very sacred at the time.”
“I had to learn how to stand on my own feet and take care of my young daughter."
“Life has been very hard because of the drought … In this field, we cultivate it with our own hands, but it has yielded nothing ...
“I slept rough on the streets of Brisbane for three and a half months but I came off the streets a couple of years ago.
Job description: six weeks in the Somalian heat, 16 hour days, no days off, limited water.
“I’ve become a lot more confident. I have people I trust now,” says Lisa
Poppies, history and Red Cross are close to Louise’s heart. “I’m a history teacher and I’m particularly interested in World War One,” says our volunteer archivist.
"The Red Cross represents humanity to me," says Madelena, a volunteer at a Red Cross camp for displaced persons.
“I’ve lost count of how much trauma I have witnessed. It’s evident on people’s bodies and in their eyes ...
Becoming a mum is an event to celebrate but when you live in Yambio, South Sudan - not far from the border with Democratic Republic of the Congo - life is far from easy.
Water is the source of life. Just ask Michael, who heads up Red Cross' South Sudan country office.
Michi was born in a Red Cross hospital and works in a Red Cross hospital.
Last May, armed clashes, lasting five months, broke out in Marawi City, where Mohammad lives.
Meet Ambulance Uncle — if disaster strikes this is the guy you want to have around. He has saved more than 115 people's lives.
“Life can be tough sometimes,” says Neville Jetta.
These days a piercing silence sits over this ghost town, once home to some 300 families.
"When we were running from the fire, my grandson stopped and pointed at the house."
"I thought bushfires only happened to other people," says Pauline.
“Sudan, Rwanda, Kyrgyzstan…” Peter has been around.
“I've listened to men, women and children speak about the devastating impact of conflict and violence on their lives."
Some of Ray’s family thought it might be a good idea for him to move into a nursing home – but he had other plans.
Rhonda is a volunteer who provides support for at-risk 10 to 17-year-olds when they are being interviewed by police.
“I saw cleaners helping medics with patients. I saw management putting on tourniquets to stop people from bleeding to death.”
“Pretty proud, most farmers…they might think they might be a failure if they have to ask for help, so they are reluctant to do that."
“These refugees are our neighbours and they're suffering, so I couldn't just sit there and do nothing.
“Neither of us were working. The house was trashed. A friend of ours took stock of our situation and organised a roster of people to volunteer to cook for us.”
This is the first time Emmanuel has been able to hug his mum in a year and half.
Rosaria is an aid worker running a men’s group in a simple open-plan bamboo and tarpaulin structure in a Bangladesh refugee camp.
"You watch the news with almost your bags half packed. You're ready to go at the drop of a hat."
"They commandeered our ambulance at gunpoint, loaded the body of their dead family member in it and forced us to drive them all over the city for at least five to six hours."
For single mum Setara a bamboo and tarpaulin shanty is home, for now at least.
Silvestre Chivite is blind and can’t see the day-to-day struggles of his community.
”I speak four languages,” says Sirwan. “So I help people register at the Red Cross clinic and let them know about vaccination campaigns.
Every neighbourhood needs someone like 18-year-old Soe. “I became a volunteer because I want to be able to help people ...
Mental health is a hard subject and one that is rarely spoken about. That’s why Stanley’s work is so important.
If you’ve had to trek hours each day to find fresh, clean water, taking back home as much as you carry, you might already know Stuart.
“Numbers and figures will never tell the stories of a deprived child in a protracted crisis; of a child that grows up knowing nothing but war … ,” says Elhadj As Sy
Red Cross' office administrator by day, eco-warrior by night, and on the weekends ...
“My house was hit by falling coconut trees. We didn’t evacuate because we weren’t expecting the typhoon to be that strong,”
"This hospital is the pointy end of the stick. It's the only surgical hospital that runs 24/7," says our nurse, midwife & aid worker.
Tracy spent weeks fighting the 'disease of love' in Sierra Leone.
“Nothing bad happened to me, I had the best loving parents ever …. I just loved everything about destroying myself.”
Rivers have dried up, cattle are dying, crops haven’t been sown and people have used up whatever stockpiles of food they had.
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