Red Cross stories
Red Cross stories
Read our stories filled with humanity, resilience and the spirit of volunteering. They show how your support is helping vulnerable people in New Zealand and around the world.
19 December 2024
Going above and beyond delivering Meals on Wheels
Maud and Mike Burke have delivered Meals on Wheels in South Auckland four times a week every week of the year since 2016. This clocks up to around 2,600 hours of volunteering each – which would equate to volunteering 24 hours a day for three months straight.
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19 December 2024
Three decades of service recognised
From earthquakes, floods, fires, and snowstorms Lavina Anderson has seen a lot in her 30 years as a disaster welfare and support volunteer. To mark her incredible service, she recently received Honorary Life Membership, awarded to people who’ve given exceptional service and dedication to Red Cross.
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19 December 2024
“It was just like a war zone” – memories of Aceh
On Boxing Day 2004, a massive earthquake struck an area off the west coast of northern Sumatra, Indonesia. The 20-metre-high waves reached Aceh in northern Sumatra in minutes, where they smashed into the coast and destroyed everything three kilometres inland.
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19 December 2024
A day the world won’t forget
On 26 December 2004, a massive earthquake struck an area off the west coast of northern Sumatra, Indonesia. The earthquake triggered tsunami waves that pummelled coastal areas at speeds of more than 500 kilometres an hour.
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19 December 2024
Boxing Day Tsunami – memories from the Maldives
When the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami reached the Maldives the waves drove thousands of tonnes of sand and 37,000 cubic metres of dangerous waste through communities.
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