Emergency (Page 28)

Following the evacuation from Fort McMurray in 2016, Sithara Fernando experienced post-traumatic stress (PTSD) and a major depression. One year after the wildfire, she shares her story to help other people who are still recovering. She is thankful for the support of the Red Cross in providing mental health resources in the community. 

April 25, 2015 was a day the world watched in shock at the devastating snapshots on TV of century-old monuments tumbling to the ground, homes collapsing amidst the dust and people looking for loved ones under the rubble. But for Bijay Bharati, a Nepali-Canadian, it was his worst nightmare. His wife and children were staying in Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu. Working with the Canadian Red Cross as a Health Delegate in South Sudan, Bijay watched the news unfold.

Manitoba families who have been evacuated from their homes due to flooding had a chance to get away from their hotels for a few hours and enjoy some activities on the Easter weekend, thanks to the Red Cross and the corporate support of BMO Bank of Montreal.

Even when fire ravaged her recently renovated home, Saskatchewan resident Brenda Lyons didn’t think she needed support, initially declining Red Cross assistance; however, she discovered support was just what she needed to get her and her family through the long journey of recovery.

It is a story taken right out of the pages of an adventure novel: a harrowing escape from a wildfire that was quickly encroaching on the city. This is how Peter Fortna and Jay Telegdi describe their evacuation from the Fort McMurray wildfires a year ago, which inspired the two friends to start a fundraiser for those evacuated from their homes in Aleppo, Syria.

Red Cross efforts continue in response to the ongoing severe drought affecting millions of people in several countries in Africa. These photos depicting water distribution by the Ethiopia Red Cross are provided by Canadian Red Cross communications aid worker Kathy Mueller, who is currently in Ethiopia.

When his mother first brought Munir to the Syrian Arab Red Crescent malnutrition clinic in Al Tal, Rural Damascus, he was so fragile the doctors couldn’t measure him. Munir was five-months-old but weighed just over 2 kilograms – less than his own birth weight. He looked exhausted, worryingly thin, and was unable to sit or hold up his head without his mother’s help.

With severe drought threatening the lives of millions of people in eastern Africa, urgent food assistance will be needed for an estimated 15 million people in the three countries of Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya alone. It is considered the worst drought in decades. David Fogden, Canadian Red Cross disaster management delegate, was one of these team members to visit hard-hit areas and saw how the drought has a cascading effect on livelihoods, families and communities.