Today, the involvement of young people with the Red Cross is more important than ever. Volunteers, especially youth, are an integral part of the Cambodian Red Cross society. The Red Cross Youth Development Program is aimed to provide young people with meaningful opportunities for education, training, leadership and community service work, all making a difference to their communities.

Cambodian Red Cross Youth programmed was established in 1996, with the technical and funding support from the International Federation Red Cross Red Crescent in Cambodia. The Red Cross Youth are provided with capacity building training in Community Based First Aid, refresher courses for the active youth member and leadership training for Red Cross youth leaders, disseminate land mine awareness and dengue fever awareness.

Red Cross Youth who are serving the humanitarian activities through the projects in community. With the Program Department is responsible for providing direction to the branches and recruiting and mobilizing the youth to implement services to the target schools.


YOUTH SERVICES
CRC youth volunteers work tirelessly throughout the country educating, training and making a meaningful and worthwhile contribution to their communities. The RCYs are provided with training in Red Cross Fundamental Principles, International Humanitarian Law (IHL), Leadership Training, Refresher Courses and program specific training.

They assist with the following CRC Programs:

•	HIV/AIDS The Goal of the HIV/AIDS program is to contribute to the National Health Strategy to reduce the impact of the HIV/AIDS infection on the vulnerable through effective community based prevention, advocacy and support projects for high risk groups. Currently, there are 1,350 RCY working in 6 provinces disseminating HIV/AIDS/STD information through role-play, games, posters, pamphlets and workshops. Volunteers work throughout the communities in schools and workplaces.
•	Land Mine Awareness (LMA) Currently there are 1, 050 RCY working in 6 provinces throughout the community disseminating Land Mine Awareness - in schools, in the field, at home, in groups - through media, especially targeting newcomers to the highrisk areas. They train communities about issues including: mine recognition, UXO recognition, the consequence of mine and UXO injury, superstition and bravery, how to travel in unknown areas, areas likely to be mined, mine warning signs, how to evacuate from a mined field and how to report a mine or UXO.
•	Primary Health Care Over 400 RCY are working in two provinces promoting and providing health promotion education services throughout communities using posters, leaflets, training and by talking to people. CRC’s health activities in the community include – community based first aid, community based primary health care in urban and rural settings and blood donor recruitment. As well as these activities, trained volunteers educate the communities on preventative health care against infectious epidemics including dengue fever, cholera, malaria and STDs.

GOAL
The overall goal of the Red Cross Youth development program is to develop the leadership and technical skills of young people to be dedicated volunteers for delivery of services to the most vulnerable people.

Promoting friendship - A Japanese Red Cross Youth delegation visited CRCY between July 24 - 30 2004.

OBJECTIVES 1- Consolidate and integrate the existing RC youth network to the on going RC activities in 19 provinces by developing good coordination and encouraging youth leaders. 2- Develop and implement creative and innovative RCY projects in schools and communities.

NETWORK
In the Present, Cambodian Red Cross has Youth Program covers 18 Provinces/ towns with 5,450 youth members and 212 Red Cross Advisers.

The Red Cross Youth Development Program works with the support of IFRC and the Swedish Red Cross and cooperates with the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport and with the authorities in each communes.

 

> "Road Safety Begins with Me!"