Our volunteers are trained to respond to disasters or armed conflicts within 48 hours, under the Emergency Response Unit (ERU) of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent.
We are part of the ERU Benelux, which includes the Luxembourg, Belgian and Dutch Red Cross.The first few days after a disaster are the most important for rescuing victims, taking care of children and determining needs and priorities.
In recent years, our experts have been deployed on several occasions and have provided concrete help, such as the distribution of hygiene, shelter or household kits.
Devastating floods in Pakistan began in June 2022 and intensified in August 2022.
The floods killed at least 1,700 people and displaced over 3.1 million. More than half a million houses in several districts of the country were damaged. In addition, nearly 710,000 livestock were lost and thousands of kilometres of roads and bridges were destroyed.
In order to help the nearly 31,000 people affected, our ERU volunteers joined the Pakistan Red Crescent, the Turkish Red Crescent, the German Red Cross and the Norwegian Red Cross in September to help with the relief operation.
Thanks to the generosity of our donors, we were able to distribute tents, blankets, mosquito nets, cooking utensils, hygiene kits and food, as well as cash support, to the flood-affected population.
Following the earthquake of 14 August 2021, 6 members of the BeNeLuxERU were sent to Haiti to provide assistance to children and their families who had their homes destroyed by the earthquake.
The terrible earthquake that devastated a part of the island killed more than 2,200 people and more than a million people lost everything in a matter of minutes.
Together with the Haitian Red Cross, we set up teams of volunteers to assess needs and distribute hygiene kits, kitchen utensils, shelters and tarpaulins, blankets and mosquito nets.
In total, more than 23,000 families have benefited from our mobilization through your generosity.
On the night of 14-15 March 2019, Cyclone Idai made landfall in Beira, Mozambique and then spread to Malawi and Zimbabwe. More than 1,000 people lost their lives. Strong winds and flooding caused catastrophic damage, devastating agricultural crops and seed supplies. 2.6 million people were left completely destitute, without shelter or livelihoods.
In the immediate aftermath of the cyclone, our teams worked alongside the Danish Red Cross to support the Mozambique Red Cross in Beira.
Thanks to your support, we distributed emergency kits (tarpaulins, tools, blankets, buckets) to 11,000 families, i.e. more than 65,000 people including 30,000 children.
In November 2018, more than 850,000 members of the Rohingya ethnic community fled Myanmar to the Cox Bazar refugee camp in Bangladesh. This sudden and massive influx of families led to many problems such as access to safe shelter, water and sanitation, and child protection.
To help them, we have distributed more than 40,000 shelter kits. Our kits, consisting of tarpaulins, jerry cans, blankets and ropes, enabled people arriving in the camp to be housed in safe and decent conditions. We were able to support more than 200,000 children and their families through this 5-month action.
