As the heat bears down, people handing out water have appeared on the streets of Skopje - volunteers from the Red Cross of the City of Skopje. Mobile teams are out in the field because of the forecast high temperatures, with a simple but important mission: to help the people who suffer the heat the most.

The teams, made up of volunteers from the disaster response unit, patrol the central city area and the larger bus stops, handing out water to passers-by. According to the plan, twelve volunteers split into four teams distribute around 400 litres of water a day. Beyond the humanitarian aid, some of them also help clean up the surroundings.

These are the kind of efforts that rarely make the headlines but genuinely matter - an ordinary person handing the elderly, the homeless and outdoor workers a cup of water in the worst hour of the day. Behind every one of those bottles stands a volunteer who isn't paid, who simply decided that somebody had to.

But the other side is worth saying too. When the response to a heatwave depends on four teams of volunteers and their 400 litres, it means the system meant to protect the most vulnerable is thin. The Red Cross does its job exemplarily - the question is where are the institutions that should be offering more than goodwill. The volunteers are filling the gaps; but the gaps shouldn't exist in the first place.