Disaster Response (Page 40)

Six months on from the Nepal earthquakes, we take a look at recovery still taking place in devastated regions. These are photos from Nepal, where the Canadian Red Cross set up a field hospital to provide emergency medical care following the earthquake six months ago. 

On the six-month anniversary of the Nepal earthquakes, Al Alcock, a Canadian Red Cross aid worker from Whitehorse, lists colourful memories of  time spent with the disaster relief and recovery team, which continues its efforts there.
 
Six months after the Nepal earthquakes, I’m thinking of the people I met while working at the Canadian Red Cross field hospital in the remote village of Dhunche. Here’s what sticks in my mind after four weeks working there.

Released today by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), this year’s World Disasters Report takes a look at the importance of local actors, individuals and local groups such as National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, taking action as first responders at the scene of a crisis.

With 20 other highly-trained Red Cross delegates, plus a mobile field hospital and operating theatre, Lynn flew into Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu shortly after the first earthquake.

Within a few days, an entire Basic Health Care facility had taken shape near the remote village of Khokundole. The night they finished, Lynn pulled on her toque and climbed into a sleeping bag, knowing her real work would start the next day.

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

My first impression of Philippine Red Cross staff and volunteers when I arrived straight after Typhoon Haiyan in November 2013 was of dedicated and hardworking people who deeply believe in the mission and ideals of the Red Cross. They never shy away from harsh and difficult conditions to ensure that assistance is delivered to those who truly need it, when they need it.

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

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.