A Red Cross Volunteer

Then there is a story about a young man who works for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Mohadin Muzammil. He is typical of many Sri Lankans.

Last year he returned to his village having spent six years working in the Middle East so that he could support his family with a decent income. He worked as a waiter at the Dubai Sheraton where he saved up enough money to build a four roomed house close to the beach near Pottuvil on the East Coast. Tragically his new home was left in ruins when the tsunami struck. Two weeks after the tsunami he was at the ruins of his house and he noticed one of our delegates looking into his well.

The woman was Katarina Ortfeld, a Swedish Red Cross water and sanitation delegate. Katarina had been having difficulty finding a translator so she hired Mohadin on the spot. Eight months later, Mohadin is still with the Red Cross. Now, he heads up a team of volunteers who can go from house to house with their buckets and ladder, checking the water quality and cleaning the wells along Pottuvil’s coastal area.

In January he will be heading off to Germany for 2 weeks to take a mass water treatment course. He is very good and says that even though he lost his house the Red Cross gave him an opportunity to start a new life. Great Red Cross story isn’t it.