Red Cross Day events

Though World Red Cross Day is celebrated on May 8, the birthday of founder Jean Henry Dunant, in Bombay, the Indian Red Cross Society, Maharashtra State Branch arranged celebratory events extending over several days this year. On May 5, 2014 at a function at the Homi J. H. Taleyarkhan Hall attended by 150 persons, chief guest Anil Sardana, managing director and chief executive officer (CEO) of Tata Power inaugurated the Red Cross website: www.redcrossmaharashtra.org. N. Santhanam, CEO of Bombay’s Breach Candy Hospital was guest of honor, mentions a write-up by Red Cross honorary secretary Homai Modi.
As the theme for this year was "My Red Cross Story,” four such stories were presented. One narrator was a thalassemia major patient who has been cared for by the Red Cross Blood Centre for the past 20 years, the others being a Junior Red Cross member, a person from the department of Family News Service and a former Bel-Air nursing student who is now employed at the Breach Candy Hospital. The guest of honor congratulated Bel-Air, which was founded in 1912 by Dr Rustomji Billimoria, for the quality of nurses provided to the Breach Candy Hospital and the services of the Red Cross Blood Centre. Sardana was appreciative of the humanitarian work done by the Red Cross and offered to help the organization through their company’s social responsibility scheme.

On May 2 and 6, two stalls each were put up at the Victoria Terminus and Churchgate railway stations respectively. One stall was for blood collection and grouping while the other was for first aid, promotional material and had a help desk. Modi informs that the Red Cross is now mandated to conduct first aid classes which they do in companies, private organizations, nongovernmental organizations and other places. The Red Cross may be contacted on 22661524, 22664030 or 22674235 for further information.
Little known by the public is the Tracing Department of the Red Cross which works worldwide to locate missing persons and restoring family links. Modi shares the story of an 8th standard boy from Kerala who was found by Red Cross staff members walking aimlessly at Churchgate station. He had gone to the school to collect his examination results and was ragged by the other boys on account of his obesity, so he ran away from home and landed in Bombay. The staff members coaxed him to reveal where he came from and to share his residential telephone number. The boy was served breakfast and lunch and then convinced to return to his family. The latter were contacted and a relative took him back to Kerala. His happy family telephoned to thank the Red Cross when he returned.
On May 7, 2014, Governor of Maharashtra Kateekal Sankaranarayanan, who is president of the Red Cross, Maharashtra Branch, visited Bel-Air, where he was received by Modi, Father Kariylakulam Tomy, director of Bel-Air Hospital and College of Nursing and the collector of Satara, among other officials. He toured the vast campus, stopping at the Ayurvedic Centre where Kerala massage and treatment is administered. At the Nursing College, he was welcomed by the College band, principal Sister Lourdu Mary, the staff and 200 students with whom he freely interacted, even speaking to them in Malayalam, to their amusement! He was appreciative that at Bel-Air the staff, patients as well as students are happy and well looked after. During his speech, he announced a donation of rupees three lakhs, notes the write-up.