Kindness has no borders: how your donation can help someone in crisis, no matter where they are  

Last updated 19 April 2023

More than 18 months in, everyone has been affected by the pandemic. 

People have lost loved ones, families have struggled to cope financially, and loneliness and isolation have been more keenly felt than ever by millions of people worldwide. 

As 2021 edges toward a close, we can be hopeful that here in the UK, Christmas will be a happier one than last year. 

In other countries around the world, this is sadly not the case. While focus has been on the fight against Covid-19, another quiet tragedy has been playing out in the background.

 

Nearly 100 million people have fallen into extreme poverty worldwide

The pandemic has caused a catastrophic global fallout. The World Bank estimates that 97 million people fell into extreme poverty last year, with levels increasing for the first time since 1999.  

We have also witnessed that, within communities including millions of Red Cross and Red Crescent volunteers, kindness has no borders.  

 

This belief underpins our new appeal, donations to which will be split evenly between our work in the UK and our International Relief Fund. 

That means that every donation to Kindness has no borders will go towards helping people still reeling from the impact of Covid-19 here in the UK, and to people in crisis overseas, too. 

Whether it’s around the corner or around the world, donations to Kindness has no borders will reach the people who need it most, no matter who or where they are. 

DONATE NOW

Making sure no one is left behind in the fight against Covid-19

In the UK, that could mean supporting people who are isolated or experiencing financial problems and need access to basic items like food and medicine. 

Since March 2020, we have reached more than 2 million people through our UK Covid-19 response. That includes:

• Helping people get to or from hospital in over 46,000 ambulance journeys
• Making over 114,000 food deliveries, and over 16,000 medicine deliveries
• Taking over 33,000 calls on our support line 
• Supporting more than 8,000 people through our International Family Tracing and Family Reunion teams.

Staff and volunteers have also been supporting the vaccination programme up and down the country. 

DONATE NOW

Communities affected by Covid-19, climate change and conflict

Donations to Kindness has no borders will also reach people around the world who have been hit by Covid-19 on top of other disasters. 

Launched earlier this year, the International Relief Fund supports our most vital international work - from disease prevention and food security, to providing psychosocial support to people who are survivors of trafficking.  

This includes work in water, sanitation and hygiene projects in places like Rakhine, a state which borders Bangladesh to the west of Myanmar. 

Seventy-eight per cent of the population in Rakhine lives below the poverty line, and multiple waves of Covid-19 have only made the situation worse. 

Over the next year, the Red Cross will build water points and toilets, and help protect against emergencies like flooding during monsoon season. 

In Kenya, where people live with the triple threat of Covid-19, hunger and climate change, Red Cross work includes improving access to clean water, food security programmes for local farmers, and cash grants for expectant and new mothers.

A national charity and a global movement

The British Red Cross is in a unique position as a national charity that is part of a bigger global movement, with over 190 societies all over the world. 

It was founded over 150 years ago with the aim of reaching people in crisis no matter who or where they are. 

The goal of Kindness has no borders is to help as many people as possible. 

Together we can be a lifeline to someone in the UK who is in need of comfort and conversation, and someone overseas who is affected by the impact of Covid-19 and other disasters.  

If you believe that kindness has no borders, please join us today. 

DONATE NOW