Finnish Red Cross emergency aid has been needed week after week – on Hunger Day, funds are raised to prepare for disasters

The Hunger Day box collection starting this Thursday aims to raise money for the Finnish Red Cross disaster relief fund, designed to help people affected by disasters and conflicts around the world.

Rapid emergency aid has been needed in the past few weeks due to sudden disasters. The funds raised on Hunger Day are not earmarked in advance and can therefore be used to help quickly where aid is needed at any given time.

“The local communities are prepared for crises, but they may need outside aid in the worst cases. The flooding in Libya has been immensely destructive, and the earthquake in Morocco caught people by surprise while they were sleeping. Thousands of people were left without a home, and those living in the Moroccan mountain areas, for example, will urgently need shelter and warmth when the weather gets colder,” says Tiina Saarikoski, Director of International Operations.

The Finnish Red Cross has sent aid to the victims of the earthquakes in Morocco and the floods in Libya. The Disaster Relief Fund has supported the emergency aid in Morocco with 100,000 euros and in Libya with 150,000 euros. The disaster relief funds have also been used to send aid workers to an aid operation in Morocco. The aid sent from Finland is directed to the international Red Cross aid operations that support the work of the local Red Crescent societies.

Additional support of 200,000 euros to helping women and children in Afghanistan

The long-lasting humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan has deepened significantly over the past two years,  with approximately two thirds of the country’s population currently in need of humanitarian aid. The Red Cross continues its work in Afghanistan regardless of the country’s difficult internal situation.

The Finnish Red Cross is allocating 200,000 euros from its Disaster Relief Fund to additional aid to vulnerable women and their children. The aid is directed at Red Crescent social welfare centres, Marastoons, which help widowed women and their families.

“The Afghan Red Crescent Society can reach numerous vulnerable people through its social and healthcare work. In addition to the Marastoons, there are 70 mobile healthcare teams operating around the country, which have both male and female employees. The work of female Red Crescent employees and volunteers is especially important to help women and children in this situation,” Saarikoski states.

The Finnish Red Cross also supports humanitarian emergency aid in and the work of the healthcare teams in Afghanistan through the Hunger Day donations.

Each of us can help in a crisis, today and tomorrow

The funds collected on Hunger Day help both internationally and in Finland. In Finland, aid is usually offered in cases of sudden accidents, such as house fires, and it is required every week: in the past few years, the local Red Cross branches have aided the victims of sudden accidents or crises more than three times a week with the help of the Disaster Relief Fund.

Anyone can help by participating as a Hunger Day box collector, digital fundraiser or donor. Instructions for box collecting and starting your own online fundraising are available at redcross.fi.

The Hunger Day box collection takes place between 28 and 30 September. You can raise and donate funds online until the end of October.