SA - Australian Red Cross

PAGE 8
AROUND AUSTRALIA
A thousand extra miles to recovery
Red Cross volunteer Jeff Hubbard and Red
Cross staff member Colin Sivalingum head to
Condamine to assist with the Queensland floods
response in 2011. Photo: Australian Red Cross
It is eye-opening how many people still
need a hand in their recovery, says
Red Cross emergency services
volunteer Jeff Hubbard. “Even though
many people are still doing it tough, it
is rewarding seeing how Red Cross
makes a difference,” he says.
“When you see people down on their
luck, it is always nice to help. I like
what Red Cross stands for. You know
that saying ‘someone goes that extra
mile? Well Red Cross goes the extra
thousand. How do I know? Because
I’ve done it.”
Jeff has spent much of his time over
the past year doing everyday
emergency services work, assisting
hundreds of people affected by the
floods across Queensland.
Jeff says the horrors of the Victorian
bushfires in 2009 inspired him to
volunteer with Red Cross emergency
services. Jeff didn’t hear from Red
Cross until towns in Queensland
started going underwater on 26
December, 2010 then “my phone was
going crazy”.
Jeff worked across Queensland in no
fewer than 12 evacuation and recovery
centres from Chinchilla in the south to
Cardwell in far north Queensland.
“A lot of people just wanted somebody
to talk to. (Where they needed specific
assistance) I referred them on to other
agencies and other service providers,”
he says. Often resulting in much
needed grants and financial assistance
so that people could get simple items
like kettles and white goods. “When
we did return, the smile and gratitude
made it all worthwhile.”
He remembers one woman with five
kids. “She had absolutely nothing. Now,
the house is fully decked out. For me
that is a good result. She was very
thankful and it was good to help them.”
Jeff says Red Cross was there for
communities who were in remote
areas and risked being forgotten. “I
was doing areas that I’d never even
heard of. Those areas never got a
mention on the TV.” Jeff will not forget
them. He was flown in to Condamine
by Black Hawk helicopter.
Jeff recalls a Condamine man living in
a tiny place. “He was living in a carport
and his landlord had told him that he
could move back in to his place,” Jeff
says. His place was “horrendous… full
of mud and toads” so Jeff referred him
on to a support service and he was
re-housed. “That’s a victory,” Jeff says
with a huge smile.
Our work with communities, in
Australia and overseas, in disaster
preparedness, response and recovery
is a crucial part of our everyday work.
There are thousands of Red Cross
volunteers like Jeff. We rely on the
service and hard work of volunteers to
help some of the most vulnerable
people in our communities.
You can make a donation to the
ongoing everyday and emergency
work of Red Cross by:
• giving monthly, leaving a bequest in
your will or making a one-off
donation to Disaster Relief and
Recovery by visiting redcross.org.au
or calling 1800 811 700
• or you can become a member of
the Disaster Relief and Recovery
team, go to redcross.org.au to
find out more.
Historic decision taken on nuclear weapons
Australian Red Cross has been
running an advocacy campaign,
Make Nuclear Weapons the Target.
We have been calling on the
Australian public and the international
community to support a convention
to ban the use of nuclear weapons.
In November, we took your views
and the results of our campaign
to an international Movement
meeting in Geneva. In an historic
decision the International Red
Cross and Red Crescent Movement
passed a resolution to work towards
a legally binding international
agreement to ensure nuclear
weapons are never used again and
are ultimately eliminated.
The decision is of critical importance as
it challenges the legitimacy of nuclear
weapons ever being used as a weapon
of war because of the catastrophic
humanitarian consequences, in
particular on civilians, and the threat to
climate change.
“Nuclear weapons are an increasing
threat to all civilian populations in the
event of conflict. If we can achieve
treaties to control the use of land mines
and cluster munitions, as we
successfully have, then we cannot turn
our backs on the need to get agreement
on a global convention to outlaw this evil
weapon forever,” Australian Red Cross
CEO, Robert Tickner says.
The decision to support the initiative
was taken by the Council of
Delegates of the Movement which is
comprised of representatives of the
International Committee of the Red
Cross, the 187 Red Cross and Red
Crescent National Societies and the
International Federation.
There is still much more to be done to
ban the use of nuclear weapons, and
we want you to be part of the journey.
You can join our campaign at
TargetNuclearWeapons.org.au.