The South African Red Cross Society celebrated World Red Cross Day by honouring their volunteers with certificates and shoes.
The commemoration was held at the Red Cross Day Care Centre in Northmead on May 8.
World Red Cross Day is celebrated every year as the birthday anniversary of its founder Henry Dunant.
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Different branches of Gauteng were part of the celebration.
Mantshadi Moralo, branch manager of Red Cross Soweto, said they are honouring their volunteers for all the great work they do.
“We don’t pay them but they are always there to lend a helping hand to the community,” said Moralo.
“We are giving them these shoes because some of them walk every day to the branches and when we conduct home-based care visits.”
“However, we pride ourselves that with the experience and training they receive from Red Cross some of our volunteers end up working at hospitals and other companies,” said Moralo.
Moralo said in our country we have a high unemployment rate and most of our volunteers are unemployed, so we try and source out to partners who can assist in giving stipend to our volunteers.
“One of our partners is the Department of Health, where we assist in conducting HIV testing and other services (HTS) and the Department of Social Development where we care for the elderly and children.”
The humanitarian organisation mainly focuses on health and care, disaster management, humanitarian values and sustainable development.
The Red Cross Day Care Centre (Benoni) manager, Phashane Sylvia Tabola, said the day-care centre has seven volunteers who are on stipend and 12 who aren’t.
“We also conduct first aid training at the centre which is accredited by SETA,” said Tabola.
“We are pleading to the community to support us by bringing their children to the day-care centre and to also enrol for the first aid training.”
Tabola said they are also in need of donations such as clothes, blankets and non-perishable food.
A volunteer at the Red Cross (Benoni), Ivy Lusite, said she became a volunteer because she saw the need to educate young people in her community.
“Most young people in Wattville were getting pregnant at a young age and I just wanted to educate them on the advantages and disadvantages of getting pregnant,” said Lusite.
Lusite said through Red Cross she received a first aid training certificate and now with the certificate and experience, she can become employable.
To become a volunteer visit www.redcross.org.za or download the South African Red Cross App on the Google or Apple Play stores.
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