Joining Hands: Meeting the Thai Red Cross

Bangkok, 20 October 2026. Our President, Dr Jean-Pierre Verbiest, President-Elect Khun Kitima Sirichai and Rotarian Dr Rapeephan Maude visited the Thai Red Cross Headquarters on Henri Dunant Road to meet senior leaders of the Thai Red Cross Relief and Community Health Bureau. The aim was to learn about each other's community service work and explore how we might join hands. The meeting was extremely informative, and both sides agreed there is much potential to work together in the future.

The Thai Red Cross was represented by Dr Amnat Barlee , Director of the Thai Red Cross Relief and Community Health Bureau, Khun Jariya , Chief Nurse in the Bureau, and Khun Sukanya Srubudommungmi , Head of Disaster Relief.

The purpose of the meeting was for each organisation to share the main community service projects it supports, and to examine the potential for future collaboration.

Set up in December 1920 , the Relief and Community Health Bureau is one of the main branches of the Thai Red Cross. It has Red Cross Health Centres in all regions of the country, provides assistance to victims of disasters when they are needed, and offers help for the underprivileged as well as community health services.

Beyond direct relief for victims of floods, drought, fire and cold weather spells, the Bureau runs training programmes in schools and communities so they are better prepared when disasters strike, including in coastal communities affected by climate change.

For people in remote and vulnerable areas, the Bureau provides general and specialised medical services, such as surgery for cleft lip, cleft palate and other deformities, cataract operations, and eyeglasses for children in remote areas and poorer communities. Through its Red Cross health stations it teaches first aid and health education in schools and communities throughout the country, and it is increasingly involved in improving the quality of life of disadvantaged elderly people through home visits.

Since 1930, our club has supported community projects across many provinces of Thailand, mainly in the North: rehabilitating school buildings, bringing clean drinking water to schools, and training in hygiene and sanitation. We also support a large project giving stateless children in Sangkhlaburi access to education.

There was clear common ground in health. Our club has funded free cataract treatment for poorer people, cleft lip operations, specialist medical equipment for hospitals and clinics, and family-based care for people affected by HIV/AIDS and for families with children who need special care. We also support environmental awareness and reforestation, scholarships including for nurses, and skills training for women prisoners to help them find work on release.

Looking ahead

We plan to look for more project opportunities in Bangkok, while continuing our work in the provinces, school drinking water projects in particular. We are developing a community-based dengue fever awareness and prevention project with the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) in some of the city's most at-risk districts, and examining support for older people in poorer communities in and around Bangkok.

We also shared the work of our RCB Bangkok Flood Emergency Fund , which has already provided mosquito repellent to protect people in flood-affected areas against dengue.

There are many areas where our club could work with the Thai Red Cross and benefit from its expertise. Four initial ideas stood out:

Our thanks go to Dr Amnat, Khun Jariya and Khun Sukanya for their warm welcome and the time they gave us, and to Dr Tej Bunnag for the introduction that made this meeting possible. Thank you also to President JP, President-Elect Kitima and Dr Rapeephan for representing our club and opening a door to what we hope will be a lasting partnership.