Red Cross gathering helps education of youths

YOUTH RED Cross activities  help, rather than hinder, the education process “as they constitute a necessary respite from the sometimes onerous assignments that must be undertaken,” stated First Lady, Dr Jean Ramjohn Richards. “I highly recommend participation in this organisation which has experienced considerable growth since its inception in San Fernando in 1944, five short years after the Red Cross in Trinidad and Tobago was founded as a branch of the British Red Cross Society.”

This was stated by Ramjohn Richards,  patron of the Youth Red Cross Division, during the Annual National Chain Gathering, held at the Ato Boldon Stadium on Thursday. Dr Richards commended  “the eight Educational Districts  in the country,  with over 400 links and 12 cadet units engaged in the work of the junior members of the Red Cross Society.” She believed that there “should be a conscious drive to recruit more of the nation’s youths  into the fold of the Red Cross which would afford them an opportunity to dispense help, as far as they possibly can, to those in need, in all circumstances and to see themselves as important agents in the life of our nation.”

Even though the nation is not faced with the situation of war,  the First Lady said “there are needs in the country that can be met by energetic, properly trained and motivated young people  who are well able to see beyond their own selves to the plight of others and make significant contributions to the alleviation of distress.” She added,” The reports in the local and international media tell us very clearly that, for some, a human being can be disposed of for the slightest reason  and left to the public gaze as an ordinary beast.  Guns have become like toys, though lethal in their capabilities and are put into use as easily and as casually as video games are played or TV channels changed.

“Quite apart from the unreasoning finality with which some are settling scores, so to speak, gruesome torture,  is finding its way into the psyche of so many.  Rage is evidence, to an alarming degree, among our young people and we must address and arrest this as it is our duty.” The First Lady also spoke of  “another challenge, that of poverty which strips us of our dignity. Assisting the poor, whom you will most certainly encounter, in your mission to the victim of accident, the sick and the dying  as well as their families, must therefore, be approached  with the greatest sensitivity.”

She pointed out that this was partly the context in which the work of the Youth Red Cross Division is being done. “It seems rather grim but I have the confidence  that there is sufficient  virtue  within us, as a group and individually, to turn things around. If only we could grasp and hold on to the knowledge that we are worth  something, that each individual is worth something, we can understand how important it is to preserve our dignity.”