First of all, thank you Izzati anak pak cik kharir and farah! Arigato! thank you for the souvenirs from Singapore! Key chains and NUS tshirt! thank you! hahahahhahaahha bila la nk step on foreign land nieh Thank you thank you thank you!



Heyyy earthlings~ So did I tell you that I applied for Mercy Malaysia (MM)? No? ok well last Wednesday or last thursday the sent me an email saying that I need to go for volunteer induction training (VIP) today (saturday). And to tell you the truth, the program was somewhat an eye opener for me. Especially the Code of Conduct. So let me share you some info on code of conduct for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and NGOs in Disaster Relief.

First of all, by becoming a volunteer, we are agree to code of conduct. *I paste this from WIki and will give you the simple interpretation given by the instructor*

[1] The humanitarian imperative comes first;

Meaning that "to save life" comes first regardless what's happening. We are here to help and what more is important that life.

[2] Aid is given regardless of the race, creed or nationality of the recipients and without adverse distinction of any kind. Aid priorities are calculated on the basis of need alone;
When aid is given, there is no bias. And the aid is viewed from the basis of the victims. Different place of victims will have different needs.
[3] Aid will not be used to further a particular political or religious standpoint;

No political or religious will exploit the aid given.
[4] We shall endeavor not to be used as an instrument of government foreign policy;

We will not be used as tools for the goverment foreign policy as a spy, etc

[5] We shall respect culture and custom;

When on a mission, we should respect each culture, tradition regardless of what they are.

[6]We shall attempt to build disaster response on local capacities;

What we will help will always on the local availability and capacity.
[7] Ways shall be found to involve program beneficiaries in the management of relief aid; [8]Relief aid must strive to reduce vulnerabilities to future disaster as well as meeting basic needs; [9]We hold ourselves accountable to both those we seek to assist and those from whom we accept resources;
[10]In our information, publicity and advertising activities, we shall recognize disaster victims as dignified human beings, not hopeless objects.
No [10] I considered it very very important. No matter how bad the disaster is, we should always threat the victims as dignified humans.

So after the VIP Program, we can join local mission. But to go for international mission, we need to undergo Basic Mission Training(BMT) sort of survival training.

Lots of information are given during the VIP Program especially about security. for instance, For a international mission especially to war countries, we are not protected by insurance. So volunteers should be aware of that.

"Life is not about what you have, it's about what you give."