Our Disaster Welfare and Support Teams (DWST) respond to emergencies throughout Aotearoa New Zealand. Comprising 19 teams of highly committed, multi-skilled volunteers, DWST provides welfare support and psychological first aid to people impacted by disaster – which can be anything from earthquakes, floods and fires, to terrorist attacks.

New Zealand Red Cross’ disaster response team members have been supporting people affected by the tornado which hit South Auckland on Saturday 19 June, while volunteers across the North Island are on stand ready to assist people affected by the wild weather.

It was supposed to be a one-off volunteer offer to help people in his local community. Little did Ewan Coldicott know that it was the start of his humanitarian journey which would bring him to different parts of the world.

In this blog, New Zealand Red Cross delegate Jessica Timings talks about her time in Armenia, helping the response to the needs of people fleeing the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

A year on from the devastating measles outbreak which affected Samoa in 2019, we’re looking at how New Zealand Red Cross extended its support to the people during this unprecedented emergency.