Red Cross volunteer driven by compassion

Topics: Saskatchewan,
Moses Chibaya | July 26, 2023

A Saskatchewan man has brought his passion for helping people to the role he has held since 2021, as a volunteer with the Canadian Red Cross Emergency Response team volunteer.

Oluwaseye Oderinde, who lives in Regina, was recently deployed in Lloydminster for four days to assist members of Buffalo River Dene Nation with the greatest health concerns, who were evacuated from their home community because of wildfires.

Oluwaseye hailed Red Cross staff and volunteers, whose efforts made his work easier.

“We had good support. The team was very fantastic,” Oluwaseye said. He found the experience of helping people face-to-face to be very meaningful.

“It’s a wonderful thing [deployment]. I am looking forward to another one. It’s kind of emotional. It is fulfilling.”

Whenever he is in action Oluwaseye does not stop working until what he needs to get done is done.

He takes pride in the work he and the team do each day. “At the end of the day, when I am leaving, I feel fulfilled when I see that this is how much I have been able to achieve today.”

Oluwaseye, who arrived in Canada in November 2019, started volunteering during his high school days when he was in Nigeria.

He says one of the things that has kept him at the Red Cross is compassion for people in need.

“It’s always good to be empathetic because these are incidences that could happen to anyone,” said Oluwaseye. “When I see people in need the first thing, I do is I try to put myself in their shoes.”

Red Cross volunteers receive special training prior to being able to respond to disasters. You can find out more about how to become a volunteer at redcross.ca/volunteer.

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Red Cross volunteer driven by compassion

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