International 38

First-time Canadian Red Cross delegate Dr. Michael Boroditsky of Winnipeg shares his experiences working in a rural emergency field hospital in Dhunche, Nepal. 

The Round-up offers a weekly sample of what our sister Red Cross Societies are working on around the world.

Adeola Adebayo, a nurse in Halifax, recently returned from Germany where he assisted in the refugee response efforts. For a month, he worked in Feldkirchen and Erding refugee camps run by the German Red Cross.

Two weeks ago, our world looked a bit different. We were providing psycho-social support at a transit camp for refugees near Munich in Germany as part of a Canadian Red Cross team assisting the German Red Cross. There we witnessed the best of humanity, the resilience and the courage of refugees, as well as the devastating effects of conflict in home countries, and the consequences of trauma during migration.

The sun is rising over the camp in Idomeni, Greece, on the border with Macedonia. It’s nearly impossible to keep count of the buses that have been arriving one after another over the last few hours. Each bus has around 50 passengers — refugees and migrants — who undertook a perilous journey in the hope of a better life. Among them are women, men, newborns, elderly people, sick children, pregnant women, people with disabilities…

The current refugee crisis is highlighting how important technology, including smart phones, social media and the Internet, has become to people affected by humanitarian crises.

​The Red Cross opened a field hospital on Saturday in the small village of Idomeni, Greece, close to the border of Macedonia, in order to provide support to refugees arriving in, and transiting through the country. Already 500 patients have been seen to date. The hospital, which has a child-friendly space, will provide basic health care, as well as psycho-social services.

The Round-up offers a weekly sample of what our sister Red Cross Societies are working on around the world.