International 20

When people think of hospitals, they think of doctors and nurses. They don’t always think of scientists in lab coats. But we are always there, hidden in the background, providing those doctors and nurses with critical patient information to guide their diagnosis and treatment decisions. Even in a field hospital in Bangladesh. 

Recently, I had the chance to chat with four women aid workers, who have been on a combined 35 missions for the Red Cross. They talked about why they do this kind of work, what keeps them driven, and what it is like being a woman in the field. 

In this guest post, aid worker George Gray shares his experience working with detained asylum-seekers in Greece.

Two years ago, Demissew Alemu joined the Ethiopian Red Cross. When flooding caused the overflow of the Awash River this year, Demissew was on the ground, ready to help. His preparedness for that moment came in part through training the Canadian Red Cross had provided to the Ethiopian Red Cross’s disaster management system. 

It’s been three months since waves of people started arriving in Bangladesh by the thousands. Now, at least 621,000 people have fled violence in Myanmar since August 25, joining more than 300,000 who left earlier. That’s almost one million people. But nine-year-old Nur Kiyas doesn’t want to be just one in million.

It’s hard enough to help people when you clearly see the pain, exhaustion or panic on their faces. But when thousands file past in the dark, as they arrive from Myanmar at the Bangladesh transit centre - stumbling, moaning or just staring blankly - all a small team of Canadian doctors and nurses could do was try their best.

Community Voices tells the stories of people who are working to build their community’s resiliency in Southeast Asia. Watch how the Myanmar Red Cross is helping build stronger communities, and encouraging women to get involved. 
 

Sandra Damota, a Canadian psychosocial worker currently in Bangladesh, shares some of her experiences working as a member of an international Red Cross team helping thousands living in camps in Bangladesh after fleeing their homes due to violence in Myanmar.

"That [photo] was actually a really powerful moment as we prepared to support the Canadian mobile health team with the arrival of about 2,500 refugees into the transit camp from the border."