Red Cross impacts positively on 120,000 households in N/East – President

The Nigeria Red Cross Society (NRCS) says it has impacted positively on the lives of more than 120,000 households in Adamawa, Borno, Yobe and Gombe states in the last one year.
Mr Bolaji Anani, the National President of the society, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Abuja.
He said that the NRCS piloted the first ever shelter project in Nigeria during the 2012 floods; the worst natural disaster to hit Nigeria in over 40 years, adding that the volunteers provided humanitarian assistance.
“This year, we are celebrating our volunteers who are almost everywhere.
“One of our core fundamental principles is impartiality which makes the Red Cross available for everyone.
“Our volunteers assist victims from blast scenes; we work with those who have been forced from their homes as well as host communities.
“We provide basic necessities of food and non-food items, psychosocial support, livelihood support, including skill acquisitions, shelter and restoring family links,’’ he said.
Anani said that NRCS had a mission to assist victims of disaster, implement health and social welfare programmes while promoting humanitarian principles in Nigeria.
“Our core competences are first aid and disaster management; we have been actively engaged in providing urgently needed humanitarian assistance arising from insurgence in the North-East.
“Also oil pipeline explosions in the South; urban violence, communal clashes and nature induced disasters across the country.
“When victims are able to return to their homes, we are there to assist them rebuild their lives, construct new shelters or repair damaged ones and also provide livelihood support,’’ said the president.
Anani said the society over the past two years had also extended its support to more than 20,000,000 households with health messages across the country.
According to him, six states are the major beneficiaries of NRCS interventions in the country.
He added that not less than 5,000 families received psychosocial support through emotional and social support in the North-Eastern states.
He said that counselling in trauma management, sexual and gender based violence survival support, among others, were some of the health and social welfare programmes provided by the society.
The NRCS president enjoined government agencies, donor agencies, corporate and international organisations as well as individuals to partner with the society and identify with its vision.
Anani said that the partnership would further help to ameliorate the pains of victims of armed conflicts and other disasters wherever they might be in Nigeria.
On the World Red Cross Day, which comes up on May 8, Anani said that NRCS would use the event to commemorate its 17 million volunteers in 190 countries of the world for their services to humanity.
According to him, the annual event has as its theme “Everywhere for Everyone’’.
He added that out of about 17 million, Nigeria had over 800,000 trained and dedicated volunteers. (NAN)