Welcome

Hi and welcome to the South African Red Cross home.

Red Cross Red Crescent Intervention in Somalia

Tornado in Ficksburg and Bloemfontein
Discover the core of our movement, our ideals and who our partners are.

Partnerships Prior to the statutory meetings held in Geneva in November /December 2003, the national society... read MORE

The Movement The South African Red Cross Society is an impartial, neutral and independent organisation. The core mission of the Society ...

Jobs Quick Links: ICRC IFRC Core Programmes
First Aid Disaster Preparedness and response Finding missing family Health and Care Youth Communications

Benefits of Red Cross Training:
• High quality, flexible training
• Shorter, more interactive classes
• Certification
Join Team Red!

"Red Cross is more than an organization to volunteer with. For me, it is family."– South African Red Cross Society volunteer Siphiwe Khuta

Are you a good listener? Help refugees and asylum seekers to make contact with their families or simply to adjust to life in South Africa.
Your gift will help the Red Cross to meet its mission of alleviating human suffering and helping the most vulnerable people of our country.

Core Programmes

	Disasters devastate lives, destroy livelihoods and affect hundreds of millions of people every year. When disasters strike, years of development can be wiped out in a short space of time. Often, already fragile public services - such as health, water and sanitation - are further weakened. Due to the extreme weather conditions in South Africa; flash floods, droughts, strong winds and sudden cold spells, are frequent and major causes of disasters. Due to rapid urbanization, the fringes of the cities have high population density areas where fires and floods are major hazards. The nature and positioning of informal settlements are often potential health hazards and disasters often threaten a breakout out of communicable diseases such as cholera, as these areas have no health facilities, poor roads, poor drainage and inadequate sanitation facilities. These disasters erode the development capacity and livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of vulnerable people every year and weaken their coping and survival capacities. Rapid urbanization will continue in South Africa and in the future, climate changes may be a key trigger for more frequent occurrences of disasters involving droughts, floods and other hydro meteorological phenomena. As a result, disaster Management remains one of the core programmes for the South African Red Cross and includes disaster preparedness, disaster response and the restoration of family links. The goal of the Disaster Management Programme is to have the capacity to ensure adequate and timeous responses to disaster situations by strengthening disaster preparedness, planning and response mechanisms and by educating the community and the public on disaster mitigation.
	The Communications and Marketing Department seeks to educate people about the work and mandate of the Red Cross Movement. Its' three main target audiences are: Staff and volunteers working within the South African Red Cross Society (SARCS) Public and private authorities Members of the communities where we work. In building partnerships and better cooperation with governments and other service organisations, it is important that they understand the Red Cross mandate and the legal status of the SARCS and the Red Cross emblem, thus creating an environment where the Red Cross can operate unhindered and safely in all situations. The Department also focuses on the dissemination of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and the Fundamental Principles of the Movement to volunteers, staff and the public. The Department also works closely with the Local media to improve the visibility of South African Red Cross at community, district, provincial and national level. It plays an integral role in creating awareness on the Fundamental Principles and the national society's activities in the country.
	Community Home Based Care HIV and AIDS Project Community Health Education & Promotion and Community First Aid HIV & AIDS Youth Peer Education
	For the South African Red Cross Society (SARCS) to be a recognised player in the humanitarian field, the National Society (NS) needs to function well. This means SARCS has to have the capacity to deliver high quality services to the vulnerable and work in partnership with other role players.