Bahrain is setting up a rapid-response disaster relief team to operate in the Kingdom and abroad as part of an initiative being spearheaded by the Bahrain Red Crescent Society (BRCS).

The society is setting up a Disaster Relief Committee (DRC) comprising representatives from national societies and charities as well as the expatriate community.

The idea is to put in place an infrastructure that can respond immediately and competently in organising relief contributions from the public that can be delivered promptly and effectively to those in need, said BRCS secretary-general Sadiq Al Shehabi.

'The objective is not only to engage the members of the different national societies and charities, but also actively involve school and university students in fund-raising activities,' he told the Gulf Daily News, our sister publication.

'This will help us maximise fund-raising results, and expand and deepen the engagement of the general public at large in good causes.

'The most obvious benefit is increased fund-raising for the specific disaster victims, and increased public awareness of the victims' suffering.'

By engaging school and university students in such campaigns, the BRCS hopes to build up the concept of voluntary community and charity work among the youth, said Al Shehabi.

Currently, when natural catastrophes occur around the world, the Bahrain government uses the BRCS as the platform to deliver its relief assistance, whether in the form of financial assistance or food and shelter, Al Shehabi added.

'The BRCS directs this assistance to the Red Crescent or Red Cross society in the country where the disaster struck,' he added.

'In many cases, it delivers this assistance directly to the affected areas in co-ordination with the authorities concerned in the country.

'The BRCS has many years of experience in the efficient and responsible delivery of such assistance.'

When natural disasters happen, there is a strong feeling and desire by the public to extend help by making contributions to those affected, said Al Shehabi.

'Historically, the BRCS rarely responded spontaneously by organising public contributions for the victims, leaving this task to other national societies and charity organisations,' he noted.

'This has resulted in a poor perception among some people as to the relevance of the BRCS. 'DRC is aimed at streamlining the relief assistance at a national level.'-TradeArabia News Service