People go missing as a result of multiple and complex circumstances. You might think that the label applies only to people who willingly decide to cut off contact with their loved ones or you might imagine that this is only about those who are kidnapped or killed as a result of serial offenders or other crimes gone wrong. But this is only a small piece of the puzzle.

People go missing because of natural disasters, war and asymmetrical conflicts, acts of terror, state-sponsored violence, and when trying to reach safe havens to request asylum or seek for a better life.

In 2022, the International Federation of the Red Cross – the most important non-profit organisation focused on protection from abuses of human rights and redress, particularly in conflicts, issued a statement of alarm at the continued increase in the numbers of missing persons in the world to the United Nations. In it, they lay out the complexity and challenges involved in finding missing persons but also the multi-level consequences of people going missing, including family separations and the profound harm done to children when their family members go missing.

Volunteering our time for something like this is in line with Opencast’s social impact strategy: this is one way that highly specialist businesses like ours can use their capabilities for the good of people and planet. It’s also a great opportunity for our people to flex their skills in a different space than they usually work in.