RNZ speaks with Red Cross Kiwis away from home

For many of us, the holiday season is best spent celebrating with our families, friends and loved ones. However, this isn't always possible, including for the amazing people working for the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement abroad. 

Radio New Zealand's Anna Thomas caught up with some of our Red Cross people doing good work overseas.

Zeke is a Kiwi human rights lawyer now based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, working as the Global Lead for Migration and Displacement for the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies' (IFRC) in the Asia Pacific Region.

Kiwi nurse Gail Corbett now serves as a Health Delegate for the International Committee of the Red Cross in Cairo.

Gail is one of New Zealand’s most highly respected nurses. In 2017, she was awarded the Florence Nightingale Medal, the highest international nursing distinction for exceptional courage and devotion to the victims of armed conflict or natural disaster. She has been working for the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement in conflict zones for more than a decade. She currently serves as a Health Delegate for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Cairo, Egypt.

Originally from Auckland, Melanie is now based in Budapest, Hungary, working for IFRC as a Forecast Based Finance Capacity Strengthening Senior Officer.

New Zealand Red Cross delegate Jess Timings in Armenia, speaking with one of the people displaced by the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Jess is a New Zealand Red Cross delegate who was deployed as a Communications Coordinator in Armenia. Her role involves supporting Armenian Red Cross Society's response to the needs of people fleeing the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Niamh served as the Secretary General of New Zealand Red Cross from June 2017 to October 2020. Now, she is based in Geneva, Switzerland, as IFRC's Under Secretary General for Management Policy, Strategy and Corporate Services.