The Ghana Red Cross Society (GRCS) has honoured volunteers and some stakeholders in the Upper West Region for their dedicated service and contribution to humanitarian interventions.
The recognition, which formed part of the Society’s maiden regional get-together, honoured four stakeholders and 15 active volunteers in the region whose continued commitment has sustained the Society’s work.
The gathering was also to create an opportunity for the members and volunteers of the Society to interact with and draw motivation from the experiences of veteran volunteers to remain committed to humanitarian service.
Speaking at the event, Madam Maria Johana Yuorpor, the Upper West Regional Chairperson of the GRCS, said, “The occasion is also to allow the volunteers to interact, reflect, encourage one another and celebrate their collective achievements over the years.”
She expressed gratitude to the volunteers for their dedication and commitment to serving humanity, which had enabled the Society to live its mandate in the region.
Dr. Edward Donkoh, the National President of the GRCS, commended the leadership of the Society in the region for the initiative.
He noted that many Red Cross volunteers had devoted decades of their lives to humanitarian service without expecting any material reward, yet their contributions were sometimes not recognised.
He added that some put themselves at risk during conflicts, disasters, health emergencies, school health programmes and first aid services and ought to be recocgnised.
Dr. Donkoh cited the example of an elderly volunteer who served during the Liberian civil war refugee response in Ghana and dedicated between 25 and 30 years of his life to the Red Cross.
“People like this are now almost 70 or 80 years old, and when you listen to their stories, you realise these are the people we must remember and honour”, he said.
Mr Charles Lwanga Puozuing, the Upper West Regional Minister, described voluntary service with the Red Cross as a supreme act of sacrifice rooted in the moral teachings of both the Bible and the Quran.
He said joining a non-profit and non-earning organisation such as the GRCS was a commitment undertaken purely for the sake of humanity.
Mr Puozuing, also the Patron of the GRCS in the Region, pledged to work closely with the leadership of the Society to strengthen the Upper West Regional branch.
He appealed to the National leadership to ensure adequate resource allocation to enhance humanitarian interventions in the Region.
Mr Issahaque Abdul Rauf, the Acting Upper West Regional Manager of the GRCS, presented an update on activities of the Society in the Region.
Some activities of the Society in the region, he mentioned, included the Green Women’s Project at Loho in the Nadowli-Kaleo District, which sought to empower women through environmentally sustainable livelihoods.
The event brought together national and regional officials, long-serving volunteers, youth members and other stakeholders of the Society in the Upper West Region.
