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In this guest post, aid worker George Gray shares his experience working with detained asylum-seekers in Greece.

Two years ago, Demissew Alemu joined the Ethiopian Red Cross. When flooding caused the overflow of the Awash River this year, Demissew was on the ground, ready to help. His preparedness for that moment came in part through training the Canadian Red Cross had provided to the Ethiopian Red Cross’s disaster management system. 

It’s been three months since waves of people started arriving in Bangladesh by the thousands. Now, at least 621,000 people have fled violence in Myanmar since August 25, joining more than 300,000 who left earlier. That’s almost one million people. But nine-year-old Nur Kiyas doesn’t want to be just one in million.

It’s hard enough to help people when you clearly see the pain, exhaustion or panic on their faces. But when thousands file past in the dark, as they arrive from Myanmar at the Bangladesh transit centre - stumbling, moaning or just staring blankly - all a small team of Canadian doctors and nurses could do was try their best.

Say hello to lifelong Red Cross supporter Betty Anderson! But had Betty’s mother not slept in the morning of the Halifax Explosion on Dec. 6, 1917, we would have missed out on meeting an extraordinary woman and lifelong supporter of the Canadian Red Cross.

“If not you, then who? You have the power to help stop bullying,” says Rachel Vicencio. She’s one of 90 leadership students at Johnston Heights Secondary School in Surrey, B.C., who has trained to become a Canadian Red Cross Beyond the Hurt Youth Facilitator.

When you love driving but hate driving winter conditions, here are some tips and resources to help you be better prepared for safe driving this season.

Community Voices tells the stories of people who are working to build their community’s resiliency in Southeast Asia. Watch how the Myanmar Red Cross is helping build stronger communities, and encouraging women to get involved.