Our Mission: RedR Australia provides emergency assistance to communities devastated by conflict or major natural disasters by selecting, training and providing competent and effective personnel to humanitarian relief programs worldwide.
RedR Australia maintains a Standby Register of qualified personnel. The skills, knowledge and expertise of RedR Australia Register members are crucial to ongoing humanitarian efforts around the world.
In the past decade RedR Australia has expanded the breadth of its Standby Register and has gained a well-earned reputation for training and providing highly skilled and experienced technical experts for disaster and humanitarian relief to United Nations relief agencies and to international and national non-government organisations.
Our training courses prepare relief workers for the realities of working in harsh environments and are highly regarded within the humanitarian relief sector.
RedR Australia occupies a specialised area in international relief by offering experienced technical professionals the opportunity to work on short term disaster and humanitarian relief assignments without necessarily having to resign from their regular jobs.
People on the Standby Register have been through a rigorous selection and training process, with their skills and experience coming from a wide range of professions and industries. The type of services they provide may include water supply, sanitation, shelter, camp planning, road and bridge construction, public communications, logistics, project management, air operations, public health, humanitarian protection and field co-ordination.
Following completion of their assignment many return to their usual employment.
History
RedR Australia was established in 1992 by Jeff Dobell, who saw the potential for the valuable contribution engineers can make in responding to disasters and alleviating poverty.
Founding President of RedR Australia, the late Professor Fred Hollows AC, challenged Australian engineers to apply their ingenuity and resources to the alleviation of suffering, wherever it occurred.
RedR Australia's first overseas deployments saw Standby Register members supporting the Fred Hollows Foundation's construction of an intraocular lens laboratory in Eritrea.
In 1995, RedR Australia signed its first contract with AusAID which provided funding to support the development of a register of trained technical professionals to work with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in emergency relief.
Vale Geoff Dobell
22 July 2010 - RedR Australia has learned of the death of Jeff Dobell who was instrumental in the creation of RedR Australia.
In recent years, Jeff's interests had moved to the provision of engineering support for indigenous Australians in the north of the country.
We extend our deepest sympathy to Jeff's family and friends.
Fundamental Principles
RedR Australia adheres to the following Fundamental Principles developed by RedR International:
Objective
RedR exists in order to provide suitably trained and experienced personnel to relief agencies in order to help them relieve people from the debilitating conditions that occur when disasters disrupt the normal pattern of life.
Scope
Each RedR organisation seeks to maintain a Register of experienced personnel from which operational agencies (governmental, non-governmental and international) can obtain the skills they require to improve their response in disaster relief. RedR does not act in an operational capacity.
Impartiality
RedR makes no discrimination as to nationality, race, religious belief, gender, class or political opinions. It endeavours to provide suitable personnel being guided solely by the needs of each situation.
Neutrality
In order to continue to enjoy the confidence of all, RedR does not take sides in hostilities or engage at any time in controversies of a political, racial, religious or ideological nature.
Independence
RedR is independent. The national organisations, whilst they may act in the humanitarian service of their governments and whilst they be associated with other organisations, must always maintain their autonomy so that they may be able at all times to act in accordance with the principles of RedR.
Voluntary Service
RedR acts voluntarily and is not prompted in any manner by desire for gain.
Unity
There can be only one RedR organisation in any one country. However, one RedR organisation may cover several countries.
Membership
We are members of:
- Australian Council for International Development (ACFID)
- Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre
RedR Australia is a not-for-profit humanitarian organisation. We are not an employment agency and we do not run our own field projects. We are a member of RedR International, a federated network of offices sharing a common vision of a world in which sufficient competent and committed personnel are available and responding to humanitarian needs.
