I.S.A.R. Germany - International Search-and-Rescue
Worldwide voluntary disaster relief from GermanyI.S.A.R. Germany is a non-profit aid organisation. It was founded in Duisburg in 2003 and is deployed worldwide. The name I.S.A.R. stands for "International Search-and-Rescue" and is an association of specialists from various aid organisations and the Bundesverband Rettungshunde e.V. Our task is to provide international aid after natural disasters, accidents and humanitarian catastrophes. This includes, for example, the search and rescue of earthquake victims. Rescue dog teams and rescue specialists equipped with the latest technology are deployed for this purpose.
In addition to the search and rescue of buried victims, medical care for victims of natural disasters is playing an increasingly important role. This means that a "field hospital" can be set up in the areas of operation. During the operation following Typhoon Hayian in the Philippines (2013), over 2,400 patients were treated by I.S.A.R. at the treatment centre.
The area of "humanitarian aid" is becoming increasingly important for the aid organisation. For example, there have been aid campaigns in refugee camps on the Libyan-Tunisian border and in Kenya. An isolation ward for Ebola patients was set up in Liberia.
Under the umbrella of the United Nations
I.S.A.R. Germany has been working under the umbrella of the United Nations since 2007. At that time, the aid organisation was the first team in the world to be recognised by the UN organisation INSARAG tested and certified as a so-called "Medium Team". At that time, I.S.A.R. had to prove that the team could move autonomously in disaster areas for at least 10 days during worldwide operations and that international standards for the search and rescue of missing and trapped people were met. The certification was successfully repeated in 2012 and 2017.
"In the meantime, I.S.A.R. Germany has become an integral part of the INSARAG and is actively involved in the further development of the regulations for international disaster relief operations. As a small organisation, we often already set standards that others can use as a benchmark. INSARAG members," says I.S.A.R. Managing Director Ralf Heuberg. He points to the speed and ability to adapt to rapidly changing conditions in disaster regions. For example, many rescue dog handlers also have medical training. This means that they can also be deployed to the treatment centre at any time once the search work has been completed.
I.S.A.R. now has around 170 active helpers who can be deployed worldwide. Most of them work on a voluntary basis, with only a small staff of six permanent employees taking care of organisation, member support, donations, etc.
Help in Germany too
Since 2015, I.S.A.R. Germany has also been officially deployed in Germany in the event of disasters. In future, the aid organisation will support the district of Kleve and the city of Duisburg in dealing with major emergencies and provide the district with rescue dogs and detection technology. A speciality in domestic operations are the so-called personal detection dogs. They search for missing people using an odour sample.
I.S.A.R. Germany stands for the transparent handling of donations. For this reason, I.S.A.R. Germany has voluntarily certified itself in accordance with the principles of the "Transparent Civil Society Initiative" and publishes all relevant documents on this website. In addition, the annual financial statements are certified by auditors.