Red Cross Building Capacity to Provide Cash Relief in Aftermath of Disasters

The Belize Red Cross has come to be known as the humanitarian organization that is on the ground, supporting the government with relief to those affected during times of natural disasters. But outside of providing items such as tarps and mattresses, blankets and other supplies, it has been transitioning to also providing financial support via partnership with donors and international organizations. Recently, we reported about collaboration to provide monies to affected persons of Hurricane Lisa through DigiWallet.  And so a two-day capacity building workshop concluded today at Biltmore Hotel with the International Federation of Red Cross to get the Belize Red Cross cash ready. News Five got an idea of what that works and the criteria that must be met.

Daniella Funes

Daniella Funes, Regional CVA Coordinator, International Federation of Red Cross

“We are doing a workshop with the Belize Red Cross to get them cash ready. What this means is that they are adding another instrument of assistance to the population of Belize; in this case, it is the delivery of cash. That’s just another way to respond to the needs of the community. It’s not as easy as just calling people and giving them out money. It’s actually making sure that certain conditions that have to be met in order for this to be able to happen. So we have to know what are the necessities of the community; if by giving them cash we will be able to satisfy those needs, then that’s a check and we can work with them.”

Tanya Hulse

Tanya Hulse, Communication & Community Engagement Officer, Belize Red Cross

“We as a national society is known for reaching out and going out to people after the storm giving tarps and giving food and giving clothing and while we still want to do that, we are adding another component now of giving people cash. That helps people with a level of autonomy and they are able to prioritise what they need instead of what we tell them they need. And the reason for us speaking to the media today is really to get people accustomed to the idea of giving us cash and having that as a new form of relief in disaster systems. I think a lot of time sin disaster, people think let me donate some clothes and let me donate some food, but maybe the foods you’re donating people don’t necessarily eat, they don’t necessarily like, there’s difference in cultures. So we want to be sensitive to all those things.”