HUMANITARIAN WORK Peace through Humanity

Dr. Wooday P Krishna enlisted himself as a Red Cross volunteer in his student days. His humanitarian work includes thousands of voluntary blood donation camps to provide safe blood, health check-up camps, AIDS awareness programmes, free eye screening camps, pulse polio eradication drive, apart from relief work in times of disaster and emergencies to vulnerable people and communities by his active involvement in the Indian Red Cross Society both at state and national level. He has served terms as Managing Committee Member, Executive Committee Member, Honorary Treasurer and Executive Vice-Chairman of Karnataka State Branch. At the national level, he was a Member of the National Managing Body and Finance Committee of Indian Red Cross Society, National Headquarters, New Delhi.

He was on the Committee of the historic Bengaluru Red Cross Home – the only one of its kind in the country established in 1946 on a sprawling campus in Bengaluru – which has been providing shelter and succour to totally disabled ex-servicemen of World War II, 1971 Indo-Pak War and the 1999 Kargil Conflict.

Dr. Krishna attended the first meeting of the Asia Pacific Red Cross and Red Crescent Legal Network [APLN] in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 2011. The Network was launched as a forum of Red Cross and Red Crescent and National Societies in the Zone Pacific Region to exchange information and to promote consultation and co-operation on International Humanitarian Law [IHL] and other legal matters of concern to the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.

He was elected Chairman of a Working Group on 'International Disaster Response Laws, Rules and Principles (IDRL)' by the International Committee of the Red Cross.

He represented India at the second and third Commonwealth International Humanitarian Law (IHL) Conferences held in 2007 (New Zealand) and 2011 (Malaysia) respectively at the invitation of the International Committee of the Red Cross. He also took part in the 17th South Asia Teaching Session on IHL held at Kathmandu, Nepal during 2010.

Dr. Krishna took a leading part in upgrading the Free Red Cross Blood Bank; modernizing Free Optical Centre; giving a face-lift to Urban Maternity, Child and Family Welfare Centre; HIV/AIDS Care - Support and Prevention Programmes; Multi-Drug Resistance Tuberculosis Project supported by US-Aid in Mandya and Tumkur Districts; First Aid Training; Home Nurse Training; and Preparedness; Prevention of Communicable Diseases; besides distributing free appliances like tricycles, spectacles, wheel chairs, hearing aids, brail books, brail watches, canes, artificial limbs, etc., to the poor and physically challenged across Karnataka with the co-operation of Artificial Limb Manufacturing Company (ALIMCO), NGOs and Public Sector Banks.

In recognition of his services to the disabled, Govt. of Karnataka honoured him with State Award for Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities in 2008.

He has worked for the eradication of tuberculosis in the country as member of the Central Committee and National Executive Committee of the prestigious Tuberculosis Association of India, New Delhi, which has pan-India presence. Besides, he actively associated himself with the Red Cross effort in popularizing and operationalizing 12 by 12 Programme at the state and national levels to eradicate anaemia among prospective mothers.

Dr. Krishna was instrumental in getting Special Development Grants from the Government of Karnataka to establish a state-of-the-art Free Red Cross Blood Bank and other health care programmes. State Red Cross Blood Bank, under his stewardship, won the Karnataka Aids Prevention Society Award in 2007 for collecting maximum number of blood units from female donors.

He was actively involved in Tsunami Relief and Rehabilitation Works worth crores of rupees carried out by Karnataka Red Cross in Cuddalore and Nagapattinam Districts of Tamil Nadu which contributed in a big way to the Indian Red Cross Society bagging the coveted Henry Dunant Gold Medal instituted by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in 2006 for Tsunami Relief Work. He successfully led Red Cross Relief Work for North Karnataka Flood victims in 2008 which won the appreciation of both the press and the public alike.

Dr. Krishna has been working untiringly since 1984 towards making the Red Cross Movement a People's Movement by 'carrying assistance from the people to the people', all of which won for him the well-merited Indian Red Cross Gold Medal, the highest national award given for exceptional Red Cross humanitarian work of high order, from the President of India in 2013. He has also been awarded Dr MC Modi Humanitarian Award in 2022 from Lions International District 317A which is conferred annually on an extraordinary citizen of Bengaluru City engaged in humanitarian service to the society.

In recognition of his achievements in the field of voluntary relief and rehabilitation works, the Government of Karnataka nominated him in 2009 as Member (in the rank of Minister of State) of Karnataka State Disaster Management Authority.