
“We are everywhere, but without you we are nowhere”
Reading time 3 minutes
Challenges
Dear Red Crossers,
2021 is a year that will not be forgotten soon. There was hope for a short time, after the measures were eased, but also disappointment when they were tightened again. In the meantime, the Red Cross is working flat out once more, or should I say still. After nearly two years of providing help with corona, the need is also great within support for asylum seekers. Reception centres are overcrowded, and as the Red Cross we are helping with the distribution of food and clothing and offering a listening ear, whilst Restoring Family Links by restoring contact between refugees and their family members who have lost track of each other.
At the same time we are also seeing the challenges growing in other places in the world. Floods and drought through climate change, the hopeless situation in Yemen, and Haiti once more being hit by a major earthquake. On the Caribbean islands, Red Crossers also pulled out all the stops over the last year to offer aid to the most vulnerable households. And how! Great successes have been achieved.
It's the small things that do it. And all those small things together make the difference. As the Red Cross, we sometimes do that on a large scale, like with our shopping cards for people in the Netherlands who cannot buy anything due to lack of money. At other times it happens on a smaller scale.
Whichever way you look at it, a lot is happening. This means that we are constantly being called on for help, we have to adapt our plans and we have move with the demand. And a big compliment and sincere thanks are in order. You, the volunteers, are always ready to help. You spend many hours of love and time on this. Again and again, every day. And even though we are everywhere, without you we are nowhere!
I hope you find this report enjoyable and informative, and wish you good health and happiness in 2022.
Marieke van Schaik,
Managing director