Civilian volunteers deployed for the first time by Singapore Red Cross to help Gaza relief efforts

Source: CNA

SINGAPORE: The Singapore Red Cross (SRC) has, for the first time, deployed civilian volunteers in its ongoing relief operations to aid affected communities caught up in the Gaza crisis.

These volunteers, who are part of SRC's third and latest tranche of support, have undergone proper disaster response training before embarking on their mission. This includes knowing how to dispense medical and psychosocial support, as well as how to survive in an unpredictable environment.

The volunteers, all of whom are civilians, include an eight-person team that will assist in the ongoing relief operations for about a week till the end of April in Egypt, where they are currently located.

The team will be involved in the "sourcing of food supplies and packing of the food parcels, and other relief items destined for Gaza", the organisation said in a media release on Wednesday (Apr 24).

In addition, SRC has deployed an operations coordinator, also a civilian volunteer, who will be stationed in Egypt for one to two months to oversee the coordination of SRC's response activities.

This is the second such "long-term deployment" that SRC has activated in Egypt - the first being from October to November last year where a staff member was deployed to coordinate the first tranche of support worth US$200,000.

This latest tranche of support - valued at US$600,000 in total - from SRC will also provide vital food support through the "emergency humanitarian kitchen" and delivery of food parcels, and include the procurement of medical supplies for Gaza hospitals.

Around US$400,000 will be used for vital food support, while the remaining US$200,000 will be spent on the medical supplies.