The announcement of a recruitment drive for Irish volunteers to respond to international emergencies is to be greatly welcomed.
According to Minister of State for Overseas Development Peter Power, who announced the drive last weekend, €1m has been approved for the Rapid Response Corps (RRC), a roster of skilled and experienced volunteers – across the fields of logistics, public health, engineering, aid co-ordination and information management – who are available for overseas humanitarian work at short notice.
Metro Éireann believes that there are many reasons why this programme must be supported. First, it crystallises the contribution of Irish people abroad in times of emergency. Since the RCC was founded in 2007, Irish volunteers have helped to save lives in over 23 countries, including Afghanistan, Chad, Colombia, DR Congo, Sudan and Haiti.
It is also a way of telling those who have been affected by such miseries that we in Ireland care. We can send all the money in the world, but being there to help do what they may not be capable of is something that can’t be bought.
For Ireland’s young generation, the programme offers an opportunity to learn more about solving humanitarian crises, thereby equipping them to face the uncertainties of this world.
Metro Éireann also calls on immigrants in Ireland who fit the skills required to put themselves forward for this programme. It would be a way of both registering their presence as part of Irish society, as well as contributing towards global development.
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