Heather Fehr: A humble humanitarian

While working abroad with the Guyana government, Heather Fehr came across the work of the Guyana Red Cross when she was working on community development projects with the isolated Amerindian populations in the Amazon rainforest.

Heather then took the opportunity to apply as a delegate with the Canadian Red Cross. Since then, she has been working as the Regional Manager for Community Based Disaster Risk Reduction in the Caribbean.

Heather works  at the Caribbean Regional Representation Office in Port of Spain Trinidad supporting community programs that build regional capacity to ensure that the Caribbean region is able to prepare, manage and respond to disasters. Her work is all part of the Caribbean Community Resilience to Disaster Risk Project, implemented by the Canadian Red Cross. 

This project helps strengthen disaster management coordination at the regional level and builds the capacity of the Guyana and Jamaica Red Cross to implement programs that reduce risk in communities that are vulnerable to disasters. The Caribbean region is highly vulnerable to recurrent disasters such as volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, tropical storms and floods. 

Heather says the most rewarding part of her job is when they do vulnerability and capacity assessments and she can see the real impact that the Red Cross is having on these communities. 

“I don’t necessarily consider myself a humanitarian, but rather the work I do helps to support humanitarian relief,” she said. Heather proves to be a humble humanitarian who gives so much, but expects nothing in return. She’s a perfect example of why we take the time to highlight all of the work that humanitarian heroes like herself are giving to our communities around the world, all out of the goodness of their own heart.