Youth and Junior Red Cross
In India, the Junior Red Cross (JRC) and Youth Red Cross (YRC) are branches that consist of children (9 to16 year-olds) and youth (17 to 21 year-olds) respectively.
The JRC functions as a group within the school system and YRC within the college system. The children and youth are members and teachers act as counselors and advisors. Each group collectively pays a membership fee.
The Indian Red Cross Society encourages the groups to focus on:
- health promotion
- service to others
- fostering world friendliness
- dissemination of Red Cross principles
The Canadian Red Cross will support the Indian Red Cross Society in establishing JRC and YRC groups in six districts of Uttar Pradesh.
In the first year, 18 schools (with 900 children) and nine colleges (with 225 youth) will participate in the program.
The JRC and YRC leaders will be trained in basic health, hygiene, first aid, adolescent health, nutrition, immunization, Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD) education and HIV/AIDS education. The students will form JRC/YRC groups and educate their peers on these topics. They will choose the specific activities to implement in their schools and communities, such as establishing first aid posts and peer counseling centres.
