Part 2 in Red Vest podcast's series for the International Year of Volunteers. In this episode Red Vest podcast takes you around the world, from Switzerland to Venezuela and Myanmar, to explore the many ways volunteering opens up new pathways and opportunities even as it pushes people beyond their comfort zone. We share these stories because too often they go untold, despite the fact that locally based volunteers are absolutely critical, not only to every emergencies, but to providing local responses to very complex social challenges.

With 2026 being designated as the ‘Year of the Volunteers’, Red Vest launches the first in a series of podcasts exploring the key questions and challenges at the heart of volunteering. In this episode, we visit a welcome centre for refugees in Geneva, Switzerland where we explore the question at the heart of volunteering: what is it that drives people to help others, even when there’s no expectation of reward or reciprocation. In future episodes, we examine the critical role local volunteers play in addressing the world’s biggest challenges, the dangers and risks volunteers often face, and how volunteering often opens doors to new challenges and experiences for those who take the initiative to help others.

Even in places where tropical storms are normal a part of life, Hurricane Melissa and the two recent Typhoons in the Philippines came as a shock to the millions of people who lived through them. When Hurricane Melissa made landfall in Jamaica, it was classified as a Category 5 — the strongest storm the island nation has ever experienced. Why are tropical storms like Melissa becoming so severe? And why are they becoming so frequent? Perhaps most importantly, what can we do about it? These are some of the questions we tackle through recorded interviews on the front lines of the storm's impact and with three special guests who are experts in the field of emergency preparedness, disaster response and the science of climate change.