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By Elvis Dumba
Chinhoyi – Vice President and Minister of Health and Child Care, Dr. Constantino Chiwenga said acts of kindness need to be celebrated and honour those who are committed to improving the lives of the vulnerable.
The Vice President was speaking during the belated commemoration of International Red Cross Day.
“The Red Cross’s works need to be celebrated as they have been assisting communities in mitigating humanitarian challenges. Today, we honour women and men who are committed to serving their community humanitarian needs through various assistance, ” he said.
The Vice President said the Red Cross is complementing government efforts in ensuring that the humanitarian needs of communities are achieved.
“Locally, the Red Cross is complementing the Government’s efforts in reaching thousands of vulnerable people and building stronger communities. This is done through livelihoods, water and sanitation, health and social services, disaster risk management, restoration and maintenance of family as well as first aid and nurse aid training services.
“Through various initiatives under the restoring family links programs, the Red Cross movement in Southern Africa and Zimbabwe, in particular, has been able to assist countless families who have been separated from their families through migration. In the health sector, the Red Cross has upped its medical and pharmaceutical social enterprise as it seeks to offer quality but affordable medical services to the public,” he said.
Vice President Chiwenga called upon Zimbabweans to shun violence as the country gears towards the harmonized general elections slated for August.
Zimbabwe joined the rest of the world in celebrating World Red Cross Day at a belated national commemoration held in Chinhoyi, Mashonaland West Province.
Mashonaland West Provincial Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Mary Mliswa-Chikoka, in her welcoming remarks, said it is the province’s strategic decision to ensure that no place or person is left behind in economic development including the vulnerable people in the province.
She said through Red Cross, the locals have an opportunity to serve their country by offering their time and skills in serving humanity
Edson Mlambo, Zimbabwe Red Cross Society National President said that the humanitarian organization is thankful to thousands of volunteers who are on the ground fulfilling the Red Cross mandate.
“We are thankful for the support we receive from the government in fulfilling our humanitarian mandate and would like to appreciate the roles our volunteers play in contributing to the fulfillment of the Red Cross duties in the country,” he said.
International Red Cross Crescent representatives of Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe thanked the Zimbabwean government for hosting the ICRC since 1981, which has, through Zimbabwe Defence Forces, continued to work hand in hand with the organization.
“We appreciate all volunteers for their dedication and commitment through various challenges the country has gone through, including Covid-19 and their work in the complex humanitarian needs fulfillment, and we are also thankful to the Zimbabwe government support for our work,” he said.
Head of Zimbabwe, Malawi, and Zambia Cluster, John Roche, said the humanitarian organization will continue to serve the humanitarian needs of the Zimbabwean communities.
8 May is World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day—a global day to celebrate the uniqueness and unity of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.
Running under the theme “Everything we do comes from the heart”, World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day came about after the First World War, when an “annual action that could take hold in the whole world… that would be a major contribution to peace” was discussed at the 14th International Conference of the Red Cross.
8 May was eventually chosen because it is the anniversary of the birth of the founder of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Henry Dunant.
The first ‘International Red Cross Day’, as it used to be known, was celebrated on 8 May 1948. The official title of the day changed over time and became known as ‘World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day’ in 1984.