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On a misty, pre-monsoon morning at the Canadian Red Cross field hospital, a colourful line-up is forming of elderly Nepalese women in traditional embroideries and heavy brass earrings, crying children, and a few proud, wiry men.

Tucked in her mother’s lap, two-year-old Sandya Tamang watches other children build blocks, count wooden beads, and tussle over stuffed toys.
It’s Sandya’s first day at the play space created by the Canadian Red Cross for children affected by the Nepal earthquakes.

Shortly before her first child was due, Diki Dolma trekked for days across mountain trails devastated by the Nepal earthquakes to reach the Canadian Red Cross field hospital in Dhunche.

After almost two weeks away from her family, Kadiatu’s Ebola tests came back negative and she was allowed to return home where she was reunited with her family; everyone that is, except for her father, whose fate is still unknown. Like many families in Sierra Leone, the loss of the family breadwinner is having a profound impact on the family. Kadiatu recalls her experience and her hopes for the future.

Fortunately, the roads reopened within a week of the earthquake and we were able to begin transporting supplies by truck.  The team moved quickly to set up camp, assist the local medical staff with their workload and begin mobile clinics on foot to reach otherwise inaccessible communities around Dhunche.

Summer brings warmer weather but also an increase in frequency of tornado warnings and watches. On average, Canada gets 62 tornadoes a year and they can have devastating effects on homes and communities. Do you know the difference between a tornado watch and warning? Are you prepared if there is a tornado in your region?

Red Cross aid worker Bonnie Kearns, a nurse from Sarnia, Ontario, has been in Nepal for the past several weeks, working in a remote community affected by the earthquake to provide basic health care services.

She describes a close call she experienced on May 12, when a second powerful earthquake struck the country, and how a young local Red Cross volunteer came to offer protection.

Canadian Red Cross appreciates the ongoing dedication of volunteers across the country dedicated to helping in times of disaster, emergency, community health and training through various programs.
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Volunteers in Ontario will receive recognition from the Canadian Red Cross for their volunteer work on May 22; here are three such volunteers and their stories of volunteerism.