The autumn of 2015 was a challenging time for the Red Cross workers and volunteers in Finland. Emergency accommodations for asylum seekers had to be established at a few hours’ notice, and there could be as many as three reception units set up in one day. How does the Finnish Red Cross assess the past two years?
The first Finnish Red Cross aid workers will be flying to Bangladesh tomorrow at the earliest. The Disaster Relief Fund has granted 500,000 euros to managing the refugee crisis.
The evacuation centre can be used in disaster situations in Finland or nearby areas. The centre was tested as part of a catastrophe exercise carried out on the Estonian island of Saaremaa on 14–15 September.
The Finnish Red Cross is prepared to support the authorities at all times in rescue and aid operations around Finland, in the event of a disaster. This collaboration was put into practice recently in Vaasa, with a fictional passenger ferry accident involving over 100 casualties.
Yemen, suffering from conflict and drought, is in great need of help. The funds collected on Hunger Day help the victims of natural disasters, conflicts and sudden accidents in Finland and abroad. The Hunger Day box collection is held on 14–16 September.
Vapaaehtoisille on turvataloilla monenlaisia tehtäviä. Voit esimerkiksi päivystää työntekijöidemme kanssa nuorten kriisimajoituksessa tai auttaa nuoria verkossa Sekasin-chatissa.
The Finnish Red Cross will carry out an exercise focusing on evacuation and rescue operations in the event of a marine disaster together with safety and rescue authorities on 14 September. At the same time, an emergency hospital evacuation exercise will be carried out in Saaremaa, Estonia.
Since the knife attack that took place in Turku, the Red Cross emotional support volunteers have talked with around thousand people near Turku Market Square and in crisis services. Support is still available.
A total of 11,581 Finns and 41 organisations are petitioning the Finnish Government to raise its refugee quota. The petition was submitted to Minister of the Interior Paula Risikko on Wednesday, 16 August.
More than 58 000 people suffering from the drought received food thanks to cooperation between the Finnish Red Cross and the Baphalali Swaziland Red Cross, financed by the European Commission's Humanitarian Aid.
Syrjintä on samalla sekä arkipäiväinen että vaiettu osa nuorten elämää. Nuorten turvatalojen ammattitaito nojautuu rauhallisen kuuntelemisen taitoon: kykyyn pysähtyä kaikessa rauhassa paitsi puheen, myös hiljaisuuden äärelle, kirjoittaa turvatalotoiminnan johtaja Leena Suurpää.
The Finnish Red Cross has received numerous questions about how best to help the afflicted people in Eastern Africa and Yemen. At the moment, the most efficient way to get help to those in need is via the Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund.
Ensimmäinen Nuorten turvatalo avattiin Helsingin Pakilassa 1990. Ensipäivinä apua hakivat niin nuorisokodista karannut nuori kuin kadulle lapsensa kanssa joutunut isäkin.
Finnish language skills are often emphasized as a key factor to adapt in Finland’s society as a foreigner. Jana, Juan and Dani share their struggle and success with the language and give tips to those still learning Finnish. They also send greetings to Finns: please be more open and supportive towards persons learning the language – it is neither simple nor impossible.
The Secretary General of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Elhadj As Sy, who visited Finland in October, was impressed by how Finland cares for asylum seekers. He reminds everyone that humanitarian work needs more support during difficult times.
The Hunger Day collection has already raised over 3.8 million euros this year The result is the best of all time. The funds are used to aid the victims of conflicts and disasters around the world and in Finland.
Over 20,000 asylum seekers have arrived in Finland in a short time. The Finnish Red Cross accommodates over 12,000 asylum seekers at the moment, and thousands of volunteers have helped them along.
Funds are collected to the Finnish Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund. Choose your preferred channel to join in - you´ll find the instructions on this page.
The number of asylum seekers coming to Finland has grown to reach a new record. The number of underage asylum seekers requiring special protection has also increased significantly. The Finnish Red Cross will open new reception centres in collaboration with the Finnish Immigration Service.
Despite the radical cuts to development cooperation, the Finnish Red Cross will continue to help those who are the most vulnerable there where the need for aid is the greatest. The organisation asks the government not to further weaken the chain of aid by decreasing humanitarian aid.
July is often the busiest time for Voluntary Rescue Service, i.e. Vapepa, to search for missing persons, as the number of those who get lost or go missing increases during summertime. This summer, Vapepa is using a new search method which helps setting search missions in motion more quickly than before.
Late May Finnish Red Cross opened an Emergency Response Teddy Clinic in connection with the annual World Village Festival, celebrating multiculturalism in downtown Helsinki.
Everyone has the right to get help. A person might need help at home or in the street, and the need for help is almost always sudden. During the Red Cross Week between 4th and 10th of May, the Red Cross emphasises the first aid skills of young people, in particular.
A video made by the Finnish Red Cross provides insight into the work of the Red Cross Society in Ukraine. The video was made at the request of the Ukraine Red Cross Society and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).
The increasing number of people fleeing their home in northern Iraq is adding greater pressure to already crowded shelters. The Red Crescent estimates that there are more than 400,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) in Iraq, where the water resources, scarce before the latest crisis, are dwindling in the current heat wave.
The Finnish Red Cross has received numerous questions about how best to help the afflicted people in both in Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. At the moment, the most efficient way to get help to those in need is via the Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund. The collected funds are used for emergency relief and acquisition of materials for people who have lost their homes.
The devastating floods in the Balkans make people in Finland want to help. Last weekend, Bosnians and Serbs living in Finland started small-scale collections and a bigger collection effort is planned for the end of this week.
Motherhood is in no danger of becoming less common in the Central American state of Honduras. Many girls become pregnant when they are teenagers and typically have several children. The Red Cross visits rural villages and offers information on contraception and infectious diseases, encouraging women to give birth at the health centre rather than at home.
At the end of April 2014, a new camp for Syrian refugees opened in Azraq, Jordan. The Finnish Red Cross is part of a joint aid operation that has built a hospital for the displaced people who are to occupy the camp.
Guadalupe village in the Philippines is alive with the pounding of hammers and the buzz of saws. Here, in the northern reaches of Panay Island, new houses are being built, with the support of the Finnish Red Cross, to replace those destroyed by Typhoon Haiyan.
Micaelle Macabinquili, a young Filipino mother, gives a gentle push to her baby girl, babbling happily in a swing. Rainne Micaelle was the first baby born at the Finnish Red Cross health clinic in Balangiga in November, after Typhoon Haiyan.
Two aid workers from the Finnish Red Cross are involved in an operation to halt the spread of the Ebola virus in West Africa. Healthcare adviser Tiina Saarikoski is working in Liberia, while nurse Leena Railimo-Saares is stationed in Guinea. The operation aims to get the Ebola virus under control.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is extremely concerned about spiralling violence in Ukraine, and about the lack of respect for medical and humanitarian work and for those carrying it out.
The Finnish Red Cross helps Filipinos who lost their livelihood to typhoon Haiyan and helps them to buy building supplies. The clinic that was sent from Finland is already run by local healthcare professionals.
