City Red Cross-Skopje

My next meeting was with someone at the Red Cross, sadly they did not put me in contact with the right person to get all of my questions answered right away, but rather with the people who organize volunteering. Thus this blog post is less about any concrete information like the other interviews and more about what the Red cross does. There is a organization within the Red Cross here (and in Europe from what I can tell) that is called the PHV (Promotion of Human Values) which is basically a large volunteer group of young people.

The lady I was put in contact with provided me with a presentation that she would be giving soon to a visiting Red Cross Dignitary. IT had an overview of the entire work of the Skopje Red Cross, which is separate from the National Red Cross (they are in different buildings). Also, this was the most well established organization I have yet to interview. They are comprised of 5 different branches in the City Red Cross. Where other NGOs had only one small apartment, I got lost trying to find the right office door! Their building had signs all over it of campaigns they had done in the past- ads for AIDS, hungry children, stateless refugees, etc. There are 34 branches in different cities around the country. They have a training center in Struga. They provide their PHV and volunteer retreats there. While only the professional staff is paid, there are many many volunteers.

They have 7 main activities in the City Red Cross:

1. Dissemination: Or rather the promotion of the Red Cross. Basically this is their PR department without saying so.  They promote the red Cross and the principles that they hold, such as the Geneva convention.
2. First Aid: Usually completed through schools and businesses. Since there is a law in MK that says for every 20 people employed 1 person has to be trained in First Aid/CPR. Also, every person to get a drivers licence has to have first aid training. (although it is interesting to note that the safety officer at the US Embassy at our briefing told us that there is no Good Samaritan Law here, meaning if you injure someone while trying to help them to the best of your ability, you are liable for their injuries. But if everyone has to get trained I am shocked there is no law like this.)
3. Youth Red Cross:  There are about 50 active youth volunteers. They are taught how they can be proactive and do different activities with their hands so they can better themselves in the future. Their traditional activities relate to cancer, AIDS or different small projects
4. Disaster Outreach and Preparedness: They train a team so they can help with injuries. Every week they have a team on Vodno and Matka (mountains in MK) to help with lost hikers or trapped skiers.
5. Blood Donation: They work with an institute for the actual transfusion. The Institute (name less) will come collect the blood. There are campaigns to collect blood as well as clubs for blood donors (to increase their motivation).
1. An interesting note is that in the US the Red Cross lets you donate blood every 56 days (in case you need a comparison, less than 2 months for any one!). Here men have to wait 3 months and women 4! When I asked the lady I had been talking too if she knew why she told me it was because of the “delicate balance that women have.” THIS is why I wanted to study gender in MK!
6. Social Welfare: They run a campaign against hunger where people can donate food/clothes which are given to “social cases” (AKA the homeless). They also have a program called the week of Solidarity where the 5 centers collect donations from people for the less fortunate.
7. Health Prevention: The United Nation’s Refugee program is collaborating with them to help have a center for children (kindergarten).

She also mentioned the different projects that they were currently working on.

• A program, with “Dormeo,”  where you can donate an old mattress and they will clean it and it will be given to jails or hospitals. You will be give a coupon for a discount on a new mattress.
• The Center For Homeless People: Every Friday/Tuesday they meet with the homeless people to take them to a center where they can take a shower, get clean clothes, receive basic medical care, and some food. This has been done for the last 3 years.
• Over the next two years they will be implementing a program for the elderly. They will give 80 people a phone with free minutes on it. They will also provide 2 nurses who will help on the phone. They hope to give the elderly people some community to socialize in and get some medical care.

I was able to get some information about how closely they worked with the government. They said that it depends on what level of government they are working with and what level of the Red Cross is trying to reach them. The City of Skopje has been a big help to the city Red Cross, but it just depends on the day or week or mood of the government. The local municipalities sometimes help with gaining extra support from their citizens or providing logistical support.

In reference to funding, they get some money for running the blood donation campaigns. In addition, part of the car registration fee goes to the Red Cross. They also provide commercial training to businesses for a fee.