Red Cross stories
Red Cross stories
Read our stories filled with humanity, resilience and the spirit of volunteering. They show how your support is helping vulnerable people in New Zealand and around the world.
15 March 2024
Helping generations
Many of the homes in the small Hawke’s Bay community of Waiohiki have stayed in the same family for generations. Kiriana Laison is the fourth generation of her family to live in her home – her children are the fifth. The night flooding from Cyclone Gabrielle arrived, Kiriana was worried she had not only lost her home but her entire community – and her family.
Read more
13 March 2024
Red Cross workers evacuated during the Port Hills fire benefit from Good and Ready preparedness
Two New Zealand Red Cross staff members evacuated last month due to fire danger - exactly seven years since a large fire swept through the Port Hills, claiming one person’s life. Good risk assessment was crucial to their decisions.
Read more
22 February 2024
Ukraine: Two years on
Two years since the escalation of the Russia-Ukraine armed conflict, fighting and shelling are still everyday realities for millions of people living in Ukraine. The scale of destruction is immense. Ukrainians have lost their loved ones, homes, and livelihoods, and are struggling to get the basics necessary for survival.
Read more
9 February 2024
A year on: Full $28.5 million committed to community disaster relief
Update 15: A year after Cyclone Gabrielle and other severe weather events in early 2023 we’ve committed the entire New Zealand Disaster Fund to helping people and communities affected.
Read more
8 February 2024
How Home Bundles Help – Hend’s Story
We met up with Hend Selim and Laila Abd El Gawad, just two of more than 1,000 Home Bundles recipients who have already received their delivery, to hear their story about the severe weather events of 2023.
Read more
