Ramallah - On the 8th of April 2009, PRCS and Birzeit Municipality inaugurated an Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Centre in the town of Birzeit in the Governorate of Ramallah. The inauguration ceremony was attended by Dr. Younis Al Khatib, PRCS President, Dr. Youssef Nasser, Mayor of Birzeit, Dr. Mohamad Awadeh, Director of PRCS EMS Department, Mr. Hamdan Al Barghouti, Deputy Governor of Ramallah & Al Bireh, as well as by a large number of personalities from Birzeit.
In his speech, Dr. Al Khatib said that “the inauguration of an EMS Centre in Birzeit is a very important PRCS achievement which coincides with the celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Society, the 150th anniversary of the International Movement of Red Cross/Crescent Societies, and the 60th anniversary of the Geneva Conventions”. He added that cooperation between PRCS, Birzeit University (BZU) and Birzeit Ladies’ Association, which hosts the Centre, is a good example of how CSOs complement each other with a view to providing the best humanitarian services to the Palestinian population.
Dr. Nasser also took the floor to praise PRCS’s efforts at the service of Palestinians, and considered this new Centre in Birzeit to be a major milestone in the town’s history. He described this day as “historic for Birzeit, given the services the PRCS EMS Centre shall provide to the town’s residents as well as to Palestinians from neighbouring villages”.
Dr. Awadeh said that the inauguration of such a Centre in Birzeit is in line with the Society’s policy aimed at providing emergency medical services throughout Palestine, and that this Centre shall provide its services to Palestinians from Birzeit and from other neighbouring villages.
On a different note, PRCS Youth & Volunteers Department organised a workshop on the basics and importance of voluntary work. The workshop, held at BZU, was attended by 30 students as well as by Mr. Mohamad Al Ahmad, Dean of Students Affairs at BZU, Ms. Ghada Al Omari, Coordinator for Cooperative Action, Mr. Sa’ed Rabi’i, Director of PRCS Community-based Centres and a large number of volunteers.
The opening speech was given by Mr. Al Ahmad who lauded the role played by PRCS and its humanitarian and social services as well as its voluntary action and affirmed that PRCS perfectly understands and executes its valuable humanitarian mission. He underlined the complementarity of voluntary action at PRCS and BZU and stressed the importance of partnerships and cooperation between BZU and PRCS, which is the sole humanitarian organisation having assigned, over the past 40 years, an important role to voluntary action given its great significance for the Palestinian society.
Ms. Al Omari highlighted the permanent ties between PRCS and BZU with a view to strengthening the community’s belief in voluntary action and highlighting its importance in reinforcing values, principles and the spirit of cooperation. Al Omari expressed her joy to see PRCS take part in such workshops and seminars which she described as very important for students.
Mr. Rabi’i spoke about the importance of voluntary action as well as about its principles and basics. He said that it is one of the main principles underlying the work of both PRCS and the International Movement. Ever since its inception at the end of 1968, PRCS has worked with tens of thousands of Palestinian, Arab and foreign volunteers who have made huge efforts to ensure the success of the Society’s health and social projects, he added.
At the end of the workshop, the floor was opened for a Q&A session. Students posed a number of questions on PRCS’s work and voluntary action, and both parties agreed to co-organise a series of activities and events in the near future.
HQ Location: PRCS
