When Heather Cousins, a community health nurse from Woodstock, N.B., was recently on assignment with the Canadian Red Cross at an Ebola treatment centre in Sierra Leone, she and her co-workers let off steam by dancing and singing songs that pleaded for Ebola to “go away”. Today, their wish seems closer to being realized, as Sierra Leone has marked its first week of no new Ebola cases nationwide since the outbreak began nearly 15 months ago.
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It may seem contradictory that Canadian Red Cross aid worker Nicolas Verdy first got a degree in anthropology, and then went on to study computer technology, but for this Montreal native, it is proving to be an ideal basis for his humanitarian career.
All is abuzz at as preparations get underway for the handover of the Canadian Red Cross field hospital (ERU) to the District Health Office in Dhunche, Nepal. Orders are being filled to replenish medicines and equipment; boxes are being counted and recounted for accuracy; and the din of ongoing training sessions for doctors and nurses continues, punctuated only by the laughter of children playing in the nearby psychosocial support tent.
The Round-up offers a weekly sample of what our sister Red Cross Societies are working on around the world.
A recent spike in hostilities, including the intense ground fighting, has heightened the suffering of Yemen’s civilian population. It is estimated that since March, nearly 4,000 people have been killed, 19,000 injured and 1.3 million people have been forced to flee their homes. Severe shortages of water, food and fuel continue across the country as well as airstrikes and ground fighting.
In 2011, the Canadian Red Cross, with support from the Government of Canada, began the Building Community Resilience Project in South Sudan, supporting the South Sudan Red Cross. Over the course of four years, the project aimed to reach some 25,000 beneficiaries, increasing their capacity to address their food security need.
The Canadian Red Cross has had the pleasure of welcoming Dr. Moataz Al-Atassi, Secretary General of Homs Branch from the Syrian Arab Red Cresent (SARC), during his visit to Canada. For two days, Dr. Atassi met with the Canadian Red Cross to discuss the Syria crisis and explained the reality faced by SARC staff and volunteers to provide humanitarian assistance in Syria.
The message read “Today, August 4, we transported our dear Mr. Smiley and his brother to Dhulikhel Spinal Cord Injury”. It was sent by Red Cross nurse Kirsty Robertson of Toronto who is part of the current Canadian Red Cross team working at the field hospital in rural Dhunche, Nepal. She was eager to share Mr. Smiley’s happy outcome, as it has been a team effort.