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The American Red Cross is currently providing support across the Hawaiian Islands as people start to clean up from Tropical Storm Iselle.

While it is true that a rainbow often follows a storm, clear skies have yet to reach the Philippines. I participated as a team leader for the Canadian Red Cross’ field hospital deployment following Typhoon Haiyan and returned home last December. After seeing firsthand the devastation the typhoon had caused, I could only hope that calm would soon be restored to the country.

Dana Carr recently returned from Sierra Leone where she served as a Canadian Red Cross delegate to assist in the fight against the Ebola outbreak. 

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

A strong 6.5-magnitude earthquake struck the Yunnan province of China on Sunday. The Red Cross Society of China has initially mobilized 2,000 family kits, containing household items for families displaced from their homes, as well as quilts and jackets.

Finally, a break in the weather this morning. There is still a mugginess to the air, but it is overcast and definitely cooler than the often overwhelming heat of the last few days. It’s Sunday, a day which is usually quieter for families, regardless of where they live in the world. But these are not usual times in Kailahun, Sierra Leone.

Ebola virus disease has invaded this country, spreading not just its deadly reach, but fear, denial and stigma. It is not politics, religion, or tribal feuds which is ripping at the fabric of communities, it is the unknown.

A woman living in the far eastern regions of Sierra Leone was going on a trip. As a member of something similar to a regional council, her duties often took her away from home. As she bid goodbye to her husband, she looked him in the eye and very seriously told him about a box that was in their room beside their bed. She told him that under no uncertain terms was he to open the box while she was gone.

The Red Cross, along with other humanitarian agencies, is working to stop the spread of Ebola, a deadly and highly contagious disease. Here is a recent post from the British Red Cross explaining commonly asked questions regarding the outbreak and what Red Cross is doing to help.