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RedR trains over 1,000 aid workers in Kenya

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Kenya
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RedR UK
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One year after RedR opened its doors in Nairobi, Kenya, more than 1,000 national and international aid workers have been equipped with essential humanitarian skills, ensuring vital support continues to reach disaster-hit communities in some of the world’s most challenging locations.

From safety and security know-how, water and sanitation expertise, cutting-edge logistics skills, and techniques to help aid workers conduct effective ‘needs assessments’ so vulnerable communities get the support they need, RedR has helped ensure some of the world’s leading humanitarian agencies and their staff can respond more effectively to a wide range of crises during the year.

None has been more prominent than the devastating East Africa drought and famine, which centred on Dadaab refugee camp and surrounding camps in Kenya’s North Eastern Province. At the height of the crisis in July 2011, more than 2,000 new arrivals were flowing across the Kenya-Somalia border each day, requiring urgent attention. The security training RedR provided in Dadaab has enabled the humanitarian community to continue supporting over 500,000 of the world’s most vulnerable refugees.

In response to this crisis and other ongoing humanitarian situations in Kenya and the region, RedR has:

  • Trained more than 600 CARE International aid workers in safety and security
  • Conducted tailor-made trainings for a variety of international NGOs and UN agencies
  • Launched an open programme of regular humanitarian training courses in Nairobi
  • Opened a sub-office in Dadaab refugee camp, Kenya
  • Built up a register of more than 40 RedR associate trainers

Over the year, RedR has worked with more than 35 national and international NGOs including Diakonie Katstrophenhife, Medecins Sans Frontieres, Samaritan’s Purse, Save the Children, World Vision, UNHCR and UNICEF – and is quickly become one of the leading Nairobi-based humanitarian training providers.

Commenting on RedR’s work in Kenya, Regional Director Gordon Denoon said:

“The amount of interest, support and positive feedback we have received from the humanitarian community has been overwhelming. There is a huge need for the training we offer and the amount of tailor-made training we have done has been breathtaking.

“It is exciting and rewarding to work in this sector where there is such a clear need and such a positive response from participants, organisations and other stakeholders. It is hard to believe that a year has already passed. Seeing how much we have achieved in the past 12 months I can only wonder how much more we can achieve in the coming years.”

Looking to the future, RedR hopes to expand its activities in East Africa, not only to offer more training but also to look at other ways to support the humanitarian sector. This could include supporting RedR Members, hosting debates and discussions on key humanitarian issues, running emergency simulations and offering training across East Africa region.