British Red Cross caseworker from Middlesex awarded MBE in Kings Birthday Honours

A British Red Cross caseworker, who is thought to have helped reunite more than 1,450 people who have been separated from their loved ones, has been recognised in the King’s Birthday Honours.

Mr Albino Ochero Okello, from Middlesex, in London, has been awarded an MBE (Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire). A caseworker in the International Family Tracing service at the British Red Cross for over three decades, he was also awarded the Red Cross Movement Family Links Medal at a ceremony in Geneva in October last year – which is awarded to no more than five recipients globally every two years.

He said: “I am delighted to have been recognised in the King’s Birthday Honours for my work with the British Red Cross.”

Mr Okello’s decades of service have touched countless lives, but on receiving his award, he was keen to emphasise his colleagues’ role in bringing people back together. He said:

“I couldn’t believe it when I heard I was getting the award. I was so overwhelmed. But I have to give thanks to everyone, because it wasn’t my work alone.

“It’s a collaboration, a network. Everyone works hard to get these results. It’s not a one-man job.”

Mr Okello, who is currently undergoing medical treatment, added: "If ill heath had had its way, I would not be here today to celebrate these important Awards. But I've had wonderful support over the years, from hospital staff, from my family, friends, colleagues and well-wishers. All this kept me going and living with hope for the future, I would like to thank everyone for their support."

Mr Okello first came to the UK as a refugee from Uganda in the 1980s following internal conflict in the country. In the process, he was separated from his wife and young children. While they were eventually able to join him in the UK, the experience left him determined to help others facing similar heart-wrenching circumstances.

“I had lost my house, my job, almost everything in Uganda,” Mr Okello said.

At first, Mr Okello had difficulty finding work in Britain but eventually applied for a position as a case worker with the British Red Cross. In time he moved to the charity’s International Family Tracing service.

“We were helping people who had been through the same experience I had been through,” Mr Okello said.

“People who had lost contact with their families, who had been forced to leave home because of war and conflict, who had no chance to pack their belongings or take their families, who had no idea how they would cope with the situation.”

The service handled inquiries from people in the UK looking to trace relatives overseas, as well as requests from other Red Cross and Red Crescent National Societies seeking information on people thought to be in Britain. Getting answers often required painstaking investigation.

“It really was detective work,” he said.

“Sometimes we might be able to find someone’s last known address using government records, or the electoral register. But if we weren’t able to reach them at that address, we would have to send our local teams to the area to knock on doors, speak to the next-door neighbours and people across the street.

“Sometimes someone would tell us: ‘Oh, they moved away five years ago’ and we would have to work out where they had gone.”

A lasting memory for Mr Okello was meeting King Charles on a visit to the British Red Cross office in London, where he told the-then Prince of Wales how the international family tracing team were helping the people affected by the war.

However, Mr Okello and his colleagues’ cases are not always successful in reuniting families. The risks facing people affected by conflict and emergencies, as well as the often-dangerous process of attempting to reach safety in another country, can mean that sometimes he has to break terrible news to people about their family members.

“One case I remember most was a woman who had lost two of her sons”, he said.

He visited the bereaved mother to deliver the news.

“This wasn’t the kind of information we could send in a letter. But even after hearing this awful news, she still thanked us because we had been able to bring her closure.”

British Red Cross Chief Executive Béatrice Butsana-Sita said: “Mr Okello is an incredible ambassador for the British Red Cross and a fantastic example of the brilliant staff and volunteers that support our vital work.

“For 34 years he has been a huge figure in our London services, supporting those in search of missing loved ones.

“He has worked tirelessly to help families searching for loved ones through major conflicts and natural disasters, undertaking interviews, processing thousands of cases and sending crucial information overseas in the hope of finding answers.

“I am delighted to see Mr Okello rewarded for his work with an MBE in the King’s Birthday Honours list and would like to congratulate him on this amazing achievement.”

ENDS

British Red Cross  

For over 150 years, the British Red Cross has helped people in crisis, whoever and wherever they are. With millions of volunteers in over 190 countries, the British Red Cross is part of an international humanitarian Movement that’s there for people before, during and after a crisis. Together, we are the world’s emergency responders.