For the second time in a matter of months, Ebola once again threatens lives in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). With an outbreak of Ebola in DRC’s North Kivu declared in August, fast response is needed to contain the disease’s devastation on communities already weakened by armed conflict. Canadian aid worker Jamie LeSueur has led the Ebola response operation for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).
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When disaster strikes in Canada, the Canadian Red Cross has approximately 12,500 volunteers across the country available to help organize relief efforts. Kyle Pascuzzi is one of those volunteers.
The Canadian Red Cross and the American Red Cross have a long-standing relationship supporting each other during large disasters. Therefore, it isn’t surprising that when Hurricane Florence first made landfall the Canadian Red Cross was ready to send staff and volunteers over to help.
The Canadian Red Cross has sent operations and communications personnel to support the American Red Cross response to Hurricane Florence. Below are reflections from three Canadians based in Wilmington, NC.
On disaster responses, there are many different jobs that make the operation possible. In addition to volunteers and staff working face-to-face with those affected, there are also numerous behind-the-scenes responders who help keep the operation running smoothly. Canadian Red Cross volunteer David Rennie of Halifax, Nova Scotia is one such volunteer.
Over the last few years, some humanitarian crises have attracted worldwide attention, such as the 2015 earthquake in Nepal and Hurricane Matthew in 2016. Despite the avalanche of coverage these emergencies generate, there exist other emergencies that are “silent” and slip under the radar of the media and the general public. While under reported, the affected populations still have urgent needs to be met.
During major disasters, many of you write us to offer your help in the form of donations or volunteering. We are always deeply touched by the tremendous outpouring of care and compassion towards those affected.
At the beginning of September, I had the opportunity to travel to Prince George, B.C. in response to the B.C. Wildfires as a Communications Responder. During my time there, I had a chance to experience, support, and learn about the operations of a disaster response for the first time. If I had to describe my deployment experience in two words I’d say: eye-opening and fulfilling. Here are three insights that best capture my deployment experience: