From UEFA with love

By Mark Chaplin

UEFA is proud of its role in helping humanitarian causes, and is gladly providing assistance to relief efforts after the recent natural disaster in south and Southeast Asia - not just in financial terms either. The European body, which has donated €1.5m to the relief effort, has also placed human resources at the disposal of those involved in the relief activities.

Professional experience
Vicky Brohier, a Sri Lankan citizen who is the assistant to UEFA's communications and public affairs director, William Gaillard, is being seconded to the Geneva-based International Federation of Red Cross/Red Crescent Societies for a five-week period to provide the considerable professional experience that she has already gained in disaster relief work.

New role
Vicky, who comes from Colombo and has lived in Switzerland for more than 20 years, will be part of the Federation's Tsunami Operations team at its secretariat, and will have a wide and varied range of tasks. The will include working on the Tsunami Task Force (co-ordinating and participating in meetings); participating in the planning process for the future of the operation (medium and long term); assisting with human resources, in particular field delegates, and co-ordinating logistics issues.

Home thoughts
"The recent tsunami disaster struck in my region, with Sri Lanka being the second most affected country," she said. "Initially I didn't grasp what had happened. The first thing I did was to call my parents, and fortunately they were OK. The impact only began to sink in gradually when I was watching TV coverage.

'Something concrete'
"Then, after the initial shock and horror, I felt that I wanted to contribute my services towards serving the victims and doing something concrete," Vicky added. "It was important for me to become involved in the operation. I pondered things for a day or two, and then approached UEFA with an official request to grant me a secondment to be able to carry out my wish. UEFA graciously agreed. I contacted the Federation to see whether they needed help, and they said to come whenever I was ready."

Logical move
The move was a logical one, given Vicky's previous eleven years of experience with the Federation working on various disaster relief operations. The secondment will be listed as an in-kind donation from UEFA towards the federation's tsunami appeal.

Emergency support
The Federation is also working together with one of UEFA's main charity partners, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), as Indonesia and Sri Lanka - both hit hard by the tsunami - have areas which are in conflict. The ICRC works in all areas of conflict providing emergency support and helps with the tracing of persons who are displaced or missing. The Federation, ICRC and 181 Red Cross Red Crescent societies around the world form the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement

No hesitation
UEFA had no hesitation in allowing Vicky to take on her relief task. "We have contributed financially to the relief efforts, but we also welcomed the chance to allow one of our colleagues, who is an experienced person with appropriate skills, to contribute to the relief work," Gaillard explained.

Positive response
"Vicky knows the situation in Sri Lanka, and her contribution is as important in many ways as giving money. Vicky's colleagues at UEFA will be able learn more first-hand information about the work being done. [UEFA Chief Executive] Lars-Christer Olsson's reaction was immediately positive, and it took no time at all to decide to let Vicky go on her secondment."

'Human touch'
Vicky is grateful to UEFA for the opportunity to lend an experienced hand to rebuilding lives and areas devastated by the tsunami. "I think one of the things that I liked about UEFA when I joined was the fact that it was involved in humanitarian work, it's not just about glamour and sport - there's a human touch. In this particular instance, the help is unique and symbolic, and both I and the Federation are extremely thankful to UEFA for having made this gesture."