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​The image of a group of women heading out to the makeshift camps in Bangladesh, their Red Cross t-shirts visible beneath their lightweight headscarves, remains in the mind of Denyse Bourgault. Bourgault was on the ground in the Cox’s Bazar district as a psychosocial support (PSS) delegate from the Canadian Red Cross to help those who crossed the border fleeing violence in Myanmar.

On a stifling and humid afternoon in November, Julekha ‘Juli’ Akter sat on the floor of a small tent for families in the transit camp for vulnerable people arriving in Bangladesh after fleeing violence in Myanmar. The 18-year-old Bangladesh Red Crescent Society volunteer held the hand of an elderly woman, never breaking eye contact as the newcomer tearfully explained her journey.

A tiny baby, wrapped tightly in blankets, his face just peeking out, sleeps tucked up against his resting mother, under the watchful eye of his grandmother. It’s a scene that plays out all over the world, but in the Cox’s Bazar district of Bangladesh on Nov. 25 this story nearly had a different ending.

After the bitterly cold weeks and multiple storms we have had this year, many of you will be heading for sunnier climes in the coming weeks. Before you stretch out on a lounge chair to catch some rays, here are a few tips for a safer trip.

Amid swirling dust clouds and gnarly thorn bushes in the dry, arid landscape of northern South Sudan, a water point is enveloped with women’s laughter. A group of women catch up during their morning errand to collect nearby water. It hasn’t always been like this in Pacyic village. Before the water point was rehabilitated by the Red Cross, women and girls would trek more than two hours by foot to the river side three times a day, often risking their safety and security for a few litres of water.

For International Women’s Day (March 8), we’re bringing together a collection of stories depicting remarkable women who have made a contribution to Red Cross efforts whether through international aid, volunteering with us or putting our programs, such as bullying and violence prevention, into action.

Even in the heat, the woven bamboo siding on the Canadian Red Cross mobile medical clinic in Kutupalong camp keeps it cool inside. Sherry Humphrey, a registered nurse, sits next to her translator on a short red stool as the pair works out why Halima came to the clinic.

At the Canadian Red Cross, we talk a lot about personal preparedness. Be ready for disasters by knowing the risks, making a plan, and getting an emergency kit. But how does the Red Cross prepare for these situations?