SOME people around the world do amazing things for those most in need. Nuraini, a grandmother, used her pension to build a kindergarten in Indonesia. Abbas Sedri helps his community prepare for disaster in the Iranian city of Bam. Françoise Désirée seeks out people at risk of contracting HIV in Cameroon, while Jean Guerlain risks his own life to transport people to hospital in Haiti. These people, featured in this issue of Red Cross Red Crescent magazine, epitomize the spirit of the 2009 ‘Our world. Your move.’ campaign. Each of us can make a difference.

This global campaign honours key milestones in our history — the battle of Solferino, the birth of the International Federation and the adoption of the Geneva Conventions — and highlights those who inspired us to join together. Exactly 150 years ago, one man, Henry Dunant, had an idea that has grown into what is now the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, a global movement with nearly 100 million staff and volunteers.

We pause to consider the task ahead. And we choose to take action for good. The campaign is a clear call to action, urging people to reach out, make a move and better their world, in their own lives or in the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement. The message is that every person who heeds the call to act has the power to make a difference.

It can be tempting to turn away when we hear about our world today. Climate change, financial crisis, conflict and food insecurity — what can any individual do to make a difference? Yet there is a universal humanitarian spirit that prompts us to act for good. Through our actions, we show that we care.