A Day in the Life of a Red Cross Team Leader in Djibouti

By Amber O’Steen, Team Leader, Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti I’ve been on site for almost four months in Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti. I wanted to share a quick peek into my work with Service to the Armed Forces (SAF) so folks have an idea of what it looks like to deploy overseas with the American Red Cross. Here’s what a recent day looked like in the camp. Morning: Red Cross Emergency Communications I started my day with a 0530 phone call requesting information about an emergency communication message. Full disclosure, I am by no means a morning person. Never have been, never suspect I will be. However, I hopped out of bed with vigor and a sense of determination to get to the office as soon as possible. I needed to log into my case management system and get message details for the service member right away. After everything was said and done, I zombie-walked back to my room to shower and actually get ready for the day’s events. One thing to note about our quarters: our rooms are large metal shipping containers that have been converted into bedrooms and have a tendency to get intensely hot in the East African sun. To combat this scorching heat, most rooms have the window completely covered with newspapers, cardboard, or in my case, tin foil blocking all sunlight from entering the room. Afternoon: The Value of Volunteers After giving a briefing to newcomers on the base, I trained a new volunteer on daily office procedures. Working with volunteers is always th...
Source: Red Cross Chat - Category: Global & Universal Authors: Tags: SAF Source Type: news