Tens of thousands of refugees and immigrants are stuck in Greece. The Finnish Red Cross will send a specialist to support the international aid operation.
The office of Amnesty International in Finland, the Finnish Red Cross, the Finnish Refugee Council, the Finnish Refugee Advice Centre, Finn Church Aid, Save the Children Finland, the Federation of Mother and Child Homes and Shelters, and the Finnish Somali League have criticised measures which would make it more difficult to reunite families.
The Red Cross appeals to everyone to help Ethiopians. A severe drought means that millions of people in Ethiopia and in sub-Saharan Africa have no food.
At the moment, the efficient way to get help to those in need in Syria is via the Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund. The local volunteers do significant aid work in live-threatening conditions. They assist the Syrian people every day by delivering food, medicine and blankets.
The trucks, carrying food, medical supplies, blankets, and other aid supplies arrived in the towns of Madaya, Foa’a, and Kefraya on Monday, 11 January.
Many young people spend their Christmas alone, against their will. Every year, young people with nobody to spend the holidays with gather at the Red Cross Youth Shelter’s Christmas on-call service. For some, home might be too uncomfortable. At the Shelter, the young can spend their Christmas in a safe environment and discuss their worries with reliable adults.
Ban Ki-moon visited a reception centre maintained by the Finnish Red Cross and called the Finnish reception centre system a great example of efficiency.
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.
The Red Cross Refugee Tent tour is making its way around Finland. When the tent was pitched in the Åland Islands, children in particular were interested in it.
The primary school Jakomäen peruskoulu in Helsinki marked the Week against Racism with a visit from the Minister of Education Krista Kiuru. Speaking about racism and discrimination, her message was clearly: zero tolerance for all forms of bullying.
The members of parliament and the Minister of the Interior Päivi Räsänen received the Red Cross’ petition calling for immediate action concerning acceptance of Syrian refugees and increasing the refugee quota. The Minister of the Interior promised that the refugee quota would be raised.
Petitioning for the reception of Syrian refugees, will be addressed to the representatives of the various groups of the Finnish Parliament On Friday, 7 March.
The Finnish Red Cross and the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health have updated the way they work together on preparedness for accidents and in first-aid operations. The new agreement means that in a situation of public disturbance the Red Cross can, for the first time, also begin to coordinate other volunteer groups, in addition to the Voluntary Rescue Service.
The ski slope volunteer is both a skier and a helper, who is quickly on the spot when accidents happen. Eija Häkämies from Kouvola is on duty while spending time with her family.
The schoolyard of the International School in Espoo is filled with a sea of red collector vests. Over 170 middle school students have gathered wearing Red Cross attire to participate in the Hunger Day Walk.
The disaster drill brought together the organization’s volunteers, ”evacuees” and retirement home staff, among others. The Midwinter event was a rehearsal of action in the middle of a winter storm.
The Finnish Red Cross launches an emergency appeal for funds on March 14. The Finnish Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund needs donations to prepare for helping victims of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan.
Over a two-week period, Finns have donated some EUR 2,5 million to the Finnish Red Cross Haiti Collection. Until now, funded by the Finnish Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund, the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs and ECHO, the FRC has sent to Haiti a mobile clinic, a field hospital operating theatre, a hospital ward with 100 beds, aid supplies, and 34 aid workers
