In good hands: A PEI family shares their gratitude for the help they received from Red Cross

Harsh Shah and his family spent “a terrible night” on September 23, watching helplessly from their Charlottetown home as the hurricane force winds of Fiona raged through Prince Edward Island, knocking down trees and power lines, and causing a massive power outage across the province.
 
For an entire week, Shah, his wife, his two young children - one of whom is only a few weeks old - and his elderly parents who had flown from India to meet their grandchildren, lived without electricity as temperatures dropped on the island.
 
Luckily, Shah soon found out about the support Red Cross was offering to people impacted by the hurricane and was introduced to “Mister René,” as he likes to call René Omalosanga, the accommodation lead for the response to Hurricane Fiona in Prince Edward Island.
 
“He arranged a hotel for us on that same night. Everyday he called us to see how the family was doing, offered to bring medicine to treat everybody's cold, and brought us meals that met our dietary requirements.” This ongoing support really helped ease the stress of the young father. “We felt like we were in good hands. We felt secured.”

 

René Omalosanga, Accommodation lead, Prince Edward Island, Response to Hurricane Fiona

After supporting people who needed to isolate themselves in New Brunswick during the COVID-19 pandemic by providing them with accommodation and all kinds of support, René travelled from Bathurst where he lives and is using what he has learned in this role to help "his neighbours."

"People from New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island are like cousins. In New Brunswick, we were fortunate enough to not be too severely impacted by Hurricane Fiona. I will always be available and motivated to help my neighbor and anyone needing our support."

Thanks to the $250 in financial assistance provided by the Red Cross on behalf of the government of Prince Edward Island, Harsh was able to cover gas for his car and some basic needs during this time away from home.

Now back in his home, Shah is hoping he can fix the windows that have been leaking since that fateful night.
 
Shah is grateful for the support he received from Red Cross and is considering giving back: “Whenever I’ll be in a position when I can do som­­­­­ething, I should be doing it for the Red Cross.”
 
For more information on how to access Red Cross services, including in-person locations, visit www.redcross.ca/hurricanefiona.