RED CROSS WORK OUTLINED FOR W.I. MEMBERS

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 13, Issue 84, 9 May 1949, Page 5

RED CROSS WORK OUTLINED FOR W.I. MEMBERS

Mrs A.' W. Winstone in a recent talk to the Whakatane Women’s Institute on Red Cross said the great strength of Red Cross was that it was International. National Red Cross Societies throughout the world have over 60,000,000 members, all imbued with some ideals of relief of suffering humanity, improvement of health and prevention of disease. In the 1914-18 war Red Cross in New Zealand worked as a branch of British Red Cross, faded out when war ended.

Mainly owing to the efforts of the American Red Cross, the League of Red Cross Societies was formed of all National Societies, which, with the International Red Cross Committee, forms International Red Cross. The committee is composed entirely of Swiss citizens and their great strength and usefulness is their complete neutrality. During World War II representatives of the I.R.C. Committee visited and reported prisoner of war camps' in practically every belligerent country. New Zealand Red: Cross was formed and formally recognised by the Government in 1934, Mrs Winstone went on. “There is not the scope for Red Cross within New Zealand that there is in some other countries, owing to Social Security, the excellent work of the Health Department, and little poverty, but the Society is working steadily for overseas relief over 360,000 garments alone being sent overseas last year. The aim of the New Zealand Red Cross this year is to build up its Disaster Relief Fund for appeals for immediate relief both overseas and in the Dominion.

In reply to a question, Mrs Winstone stated that Red Cross funds are certainly available to help those in need within New Zealand, provided the case is genuinely needy.