Singapore Red Cross honours volunteers, partners at 70th anniversary celebration
SINGAPORE — Singapore Red Cross (SRC) volunteer Aaron Lim can recall the first time he laid eyes on the refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, as of March 2019, more than 909,000 stateless Rohingya refugees reside in 34 extremely congested camps there.
“Just looking at the scale was really overwhelming,” said Lim, 21, who was part of a medical relief team that spent two weeks at Cox’s Bazaar in July last year. “Most of the camps are on high ground, with multiple houses on top of hilly areas.”
The nursing student is already a veteran of four overseas disaster relief missions and is invariably the youngest member of the team. “There were just so many people we saw at Cox’s Bazar - 200-250 patients per day, and we only opened the clinic for eight hours.”
He added, “As the days passed, I experienced a mix of emotions, at first a slight sense of despair at the scale of the situation, followed by hopeful confidence knowing that we served and made a difference in the lives of the patients we attended to within our limited capacity. All in all, I felt humbled after working and interacting with the various personnel on the ground.”
On Monday (30 September), Lim was among the youngest award recipients as SRC marked its 70th anniversary by honouring 56 individuals and 20 community partners for their contributions. He received a Commendation Award, which is given for commendable and sustained voluntary service, from SRC chairman Tee Tua Ba.
At the event held at Grand Copthorne Waterfront, guest of honour and SRC patron President Halimah Yacob launched the SRC 70th Anniversary Commemorative Exhibition and Heritage Microsite, which showcases the history of SRC and the International Red Cross Movement. In October, the month-long exhibition will travel to four shopping malls in Singapore.
According to its mission statement, SRC is a homegrown humanitarian organisation dedicated to relieving human suffering and responding to emergencies both at home and abroad.
Veteran volunteer Tang Chun Tuck, 66, first got involved with SRC in 1966 at the urging of his parents. The retired civil servant has served in various capacities, playing a key role in relief efforts for major disasters such as the 1986 Hotel New World disaster and the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami.
The father of two was also a volunteer at the now defunct Hawkins Camp in Sembawang, which housed some 30,000 Vietnamese refugees from 1978 to 1996. Administered by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, it served as a transit point for the refugees who were later resettled in other countries.
“The Red Cross came in to organise activities for them, both recreational or immersive. We brought them to places of interest and involved our schoolchildren because it was a very educational experience, so they can understand how fortunate they are,” recalled Tang.
“We brought toys, food and clothing. We wanted to bring them hope, that the days ahead will be better. They said they suffered a lot. Sometimes they came as a family, sometimes only a few.”
Asked why he has continued to remain involved as a volunteer, Tang told Yahoo News Singapore, “I always believe when you bring joy to people, you will feel joyful yourself. I learned this simple truth about life (long ago).”
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