I am Baatseba. A Student and a Volunteer at South African Red Cross (SARCS)

My journey at The South African Red Cross Society began in March 2019. I joined the NGO to gain experience in the workplace through volunteering to do their Administration. However, my intentions were a seed to growth and opportunity to learning and doing more than just administration.

Throughout the year, I received training in different programs that are run in the organization. The programmes define the Humanitarian principles of the organization. The 7 fundamental principles of the  organization are: Humanity, Impartiality, Neutrality, Independence, Voluntary Service, Unity and Universality.

I received training in a programme called Restoring Family Links. It stands out for me more than others because I am now the key reference in the Pretoria Branch for this program. RFL is a Program that aims to prevent and restore loss of contact between relatives across the globe. In many cases due to political issues and violence in their home countries, migration and natural or manmade disasters. We are currently working with Medicine Sans Frontiers (MSF) and we offer our services to the beneficiaries that visit their hub every day.

We offer:

• Free telephone calls to anywhere in the world for 3minutes per call
• Tracing Requests for missing relatives anywhere in the world

Most of our beneficiaries are immigrants and are happy to be able to maintain contact with their relatives. This service offers beneficiaries new hope.