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So far, an estimated 1.2 million people have been impacted by Hurricane Irma and the powerful storm still poses a serious threat to millions more as it continues to barrel through the Caribbean.

The Red Cross is on the ground, responding to the needs of people who have already been affected, while still ramping up readiness in areas where the category 5 hurricane has yet to make landfall.The Canadian Red Cross already has a presence in the area and is in contact with the International Federation of the Red Cross to support the mobilization of regional teams.

Jean-Baptiste Lacombe recently joined the Canadian Red Cross as Rapid Response Manager with the Emergency Response Team. He answered some questions for us about working as an international aid worker and his new role with the Red Cross.

She sits cross legged on the cot, amid the many other mothers in the crowded tent. She has a smile that can light up a room. She uses it to bravely mask her concern. Two of her three children have fallen sick to bacteria ravaging many villages across eastern Africa. Acute watery diarrhea/cholera has taken its toll on the bodies of six-month-old Abdi who lies in his mother’s lap, and on six-year-old Zakaria, who curls up lethargically at the foot of the cot, barely able to lift his head.

Jenna Atchison is a nurse from Ottawa. This year, she traveled to east Africa to work in a cholera treatment centre. Jenna took a moment to share her experience with us. 

Ethiopia, Iraq, Kenya, Pakistan, Somalia, Sudan, all countries with varying degrees of instability; all countries in which travellers expose themselves to a certain amount of risk; and all countries in which Colleen Laginskie has worked.

Meet Erwan Cheneval, a rapid response manager with the Canadian Red Cross. Erwan works to address some of the challenges that happen when mobilizing humanitarian operations, details that are extremely important to the success of these operations. 

Martin de Vries, a Canadian Red Cross aid worker currently in Ethiopia as part of the Africa drought response, shares how the first rainfall of the year brings joy to a community, but doesn't mean the end of the drought.

A medical outreach team is a team of four trained healthcare staff headed by a clinical officer and comprised of a nurse, a midwife and a vaccinator. Equipped with motorbikes, medicines, vaccines and basic diagnostic tools, the teams enter communities to provide primary healthcare curative and prevention services to remote populations.