“Along with all of my colleagues, I went through a rather difficult period. Numerous issues needed to be addressed simultaneously and we were instructed to be as effective as possible – no one should be left behind thanks to our support”.
I joined the Georgian Red Cross when the pandemic started. I was the hotline manager at the time and my duty, like other hotline operators, was an immediate online psycho-emotional response to the crisis. The Red Cross hotline was where people could call and look for solutions.
In fact, the entire Red Cross – in full force – went to the field to respond in a timely and necessary manner to all the challenges faced by our society at the very first phase of the pandemic.
As hotline operators, we were involved in the coordination with the governmental and nongovernmental bodies as well as business organizations to find the best solution for people calling to get social or psychological assistance. Eight operators were working altogether on the Red Cross hotline in the pandemic and we received about 180-200 calls a day.
I remember a lot of emotional calls with really painful facts, but there was one, which I would never forget. A lonely young woman who lived quite far from the district center had not eaten for several days. Exhausted by hunger she could hardly speak to us. Remembering the details of what I then heard from that woman on the phone is still very stressful for me. Happily she called the right place. We responded immediately and helped her immediately.
