IBC is looking for new volunteers to support our team. Are you motivated to gain work experience within an international NGO?
We are looking forward to receiving your electronic application at s.poenisch@internationalbluecross.org. You can find more info below:
IBC Secretary General, Anne Babb and IBC Programme Officer, Flavia Ganarin, recently visited our project partner Génération 5S (CTPAD) in Congo Brazzaville. Together, IBC and CTPAD have been implementing a comprehensive substance use prevention project for the last 10 years and have committed to collaborating for the next years as well. Anne and Flavia visited multiple schools in vulnerable neighbourhoods in Brazzaville, where Génération 5S staff is facilitating Life Skills Sessions for youth at risk of addiction. The numerous testimonies of positive change by students, peer educators, parents, teachers and school principals have been very empowering, showcasing the strong positive impact the project has on the lives of thousands of youth who have in the past been exposed to addiction, violence or other forms of discrimination (see below). Anne and Flavia also met with the Congolese Minister of Health, Mr. Gilbert Mokoki, to talk about prevention through alcohol policy. Topics of common interest were the dissociation of alcohol sponsorship during sports events in Congo and the ban of alcohol marketing. During a subsequent visit to the WHO Afro and Congo offices, it was decided to create a joint working group, including the Congolese government (different concerned ministries), WHO and civil society (amongst others CTPAD and Blue Cross Congo), to bring the alcohol policy agenda forward. On the whole, the appreciated work with the local team was very enriching. In addition, the multiple testimonials illustrate the powerful impact of our projects:
“I used to have a hard time dealing with my own emotions and when I was angry I became violent. I would often start fights at school and was at risk of being expelled. It was difficult for me and my whole family. The life skills club really helped my self-esteem and I learned how to share my feelings and my problems with others.”
“I had to repeat my final exams three times. With each failure I felt more and more pressure from myself, my family, and my community. Everyone thought I was not intelligent enough to finish school and go to university, except my peer educator at the life skills club. She told me that it was all up to me and that if I truly tried I would be capable of reaching my goals. She helped me find confidence in my skills and take charge of my life. With each success I learned to believe in myself again. Today, I am at university and in my free time I will also become a peer educator to motivate other girls not to abandon their studies.”
“I was trained as a peer educator by the project Génération 5S. One day I went to a private school in my neighbourhood to facilitate a Life Skills session on alcohol and other drug use. The headmaster was so impressed with both the message and my skills that he created the new position of a life skills teacher and offered it to me.”
Naya Suruwat Nepal is a totally volunteer based NGO. It was created as there is a great concern of alcohol and other drug related harm in Tansen region. Their board consists of doctors, teachers, social and pastoral care professionals and people with history of addiction and recovery. Each member of Naya Suruwat gives 1-4 hours of their time as a volunteer for the work. This excellent team has been a great comfort to many people struggling with addiction. The work continues to reach the most vulnerable and excluded people. Naya Suruwat is starting new peer support groups that are open to people struggling with their addiction. Nepal is a multi faith society and as Christians we can express love in action through opening doors to people from all backgrounds. It is love that covers all understanding and gives people opportunity to experience forgiveness and grace in their recovery process. The groups will appreciate participants multiple faith backgrounds and aim is to create a loving and listening atmosphere.
Anne Babb and Anja Tuchtenhagen, the General Secretary and fundraiser at IBC, are back from their recent field trip to Lomé. They really appreciated the first-hand impressions of the projects, especially after Corona. The work at Blue Cross Togo is inspiring and bringing positive results in schools and the wider community. Through the close collaboration with various Government departments, municipalities, churches and NGO’s Blue Cross Togo is leading developments for new legislation to better regulate the sale of alcohol in general and around schools in particular. The Life Skills prevention and education programme foster healthy behavior and enable the youth to practice wise choices in various situations in their life. Blue Cross Togo also reaches out to help people of all ages through a wide range of projects. These include girls at the local hairdressing academy, women through community action and male taxi drivers. Anne and Anja saw how the Blue Cross Togo have worked hard to open Togo’s first ever rehabilitation centre to help people with addiction issues. This is a big step forward and helps bring positive change in the lives of many more people. The appreciated work with the local team was inspiring, fruitful and very constructive!
If you want to read more about our project in Togo, you will find some info in the programmes section.
November concluded with a small highlight for IBC: the workshop “Self-help in Africa”. Blue Cross representatives from various African countries came together in Johannesburg, South Africa, to further improve their work in the field of self-help and community work. In the five-day workshop, General Secretary Anne and program coordinator Sophie worked with the participants using role-plays, case studies and practical exercises to make their programs even more effective. In an open exchange, participants discussed various cases they were confronted with and spoke about typical difficulties in their community and self-help work.
In this way, the IBC self-help program in Africa is gradually being placed on an increasingly solid footing. In African countries in particular, self-help programs are a very important factor in letting people with addiction problems and their families receive support, orientation and the chance to lead a healthy life. In their societies it is usually not possible for them to gain access to appropriate health services within the the national health system.
IBC General Secretary Anne and IBC Programme Officer Sybille are back from their field visit in Tanzania. They had a fantastic week of activities and most important meetings with Education authorities, Head of Arusha City, many schools and head masters. The IBC prevention programme has been successfully running in Tanzania since 2020. The appreciated work performed by Blue Cross Society of Tanzania gained the trust of local communities and receive government support. It was a week full of revising and working to improve the Life Skills Programme and gaining quality results for youth further. Find out more about the programme in our programmes section!
