Waktu Bandar Utama

Khamis, 1 Ogos 2013

Volunteerism a pillar of Brunei Red Crescent

Daniel Wood
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN
Saturday, June 1, 2013

"WE JUST don't want to say things; we want to see changes."

When the ASEAN Youth Movement (AYM) delegates met in Hanoi, Vietnam, in 2012, that closing statement sums up the feelings of young people involved in volunteerism.

It must have struck a chord with the regional organisation and with young people in Brunei as recently, a Brunei proposal to establish a regional volunteer corps of young professionals that complements a youth volunteer programme in Malaysia was endorsed at the 8th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Youth.

A deep legacy of volunteerism runs in one of the oldest institutions in the Sultanate the Brunei Darussalam Red Crescent Society (BDRCS). Established as the Brunei Red Cross Society in 1948, the organisation was formally recognised and accepted into the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement in 1996 and is part of a 187-member strong global institution that prides itself on its volunteer base. BDRCS continues to maintain a unique characteristic among its sister Red Cross and Red Crescent societies: it is the only member made out entirely of volunteers (others maintain salaried staff in their structures).

"There is a great ambition from the National Society to extend on its humanitarian imperatives in the country, and building up its base of volunteers will be one way to start... its youth volunteers already benefit from the huge experience of an older group of retired volunteers," says Jeremy England, head regional delegation of the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC).

ICRC was in Brunei on May 27 28 as part of regular visits to BDRCS to strengthen ties and continue discussions on ongoing efforts of development of the society, particularly in international humanitarian law and the protection of people in situations of conflict and armed violence, for which ICRC holds mandate.

Meetings with government officials from the Ministry of Education on May 28, was of particular success, with the department of schools throwing its full support behind a planned initiative to implement a school-based educational programme on humanitarian principles and values, and the laws that apply in conflict.

BDRCS records some 1,000 volunteers across Brunei, though it is unclear how many are active. It carries out regular activities, often coordinating with government departments such as the National Disaster Management Centre (NDMC) providing relief during natural disasters and the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports in community programmes such as first aid, blood donation drives and the recent Road Safety Pledge for which volunteers attracted almost 400 members of the public and schoolchildren to sign.

Its last high-profile humanitarian involvement was more than ten years ago in 2002 during the closing ceremonies of a royal birthday celebration on August 19. According to a story published by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), "volunteers from the Brunei Darussalam Red Crescent were among the first on the scene when two separate fires broke out in two water villages".

It has always stayed close to regional and international developments within the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, however, hosting the Regional Disaster Response Team training for Red Cross and Red Crescent societies in Southeast Asia in 2011. It is also the standing chair of the organisational development forum for the Movement in Southeast Asia.

England pledges, "ICRC stands ready to continue working with BDRCS to strengthen its programmes, and continue working with the government... as an important partner for humanitarian action in the region and around the world."

He also notes Brunei's current engagement as ASEAN chair and its clout in the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) and Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), as opportunities to influence policy-making for positive changes.

BDRCS is one of 187 member National Societies worldwide who, together with the IFRC and ICRC, form the components of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. 


 Red Crescent student volunteers from KUPU SB demonstrating their first aid skills. Picture: BT file

- The Brunei Times

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