Imagine arriving to a new country without knowing anyone, not speaking the language or knowing how to access the services you may need. This is the situation for many refugees worldwide. To address this need, the Canadian Red Cross established a program called First Contact in 2001. First Contact helps by giving refugees access to information about emergency shelter, social services, legal and health services.
1
Latest Posts
As we get ready in ring in 2020, we're reflecting on some events from the past decade that brought together international aid workers, inspired innovative solutions to complex challenges, and showed the amazing capacity for resilience humans have in the face of disasters.
In the spring of 1999, Canada sponsored 5,000 Kosovar refugees as part of an international emergency evacuation organized by the United Nations for hundreds of thousands of civilians. Guest writer Arta Rexhepi came to Canada with her family, she shares her experience in this blog.
On June 20, World Refugee Day, the Canadian Red Cross launched its new interactive, online resource, Forced to Fight. Designed for teachers and students between 13-18 years old, Forced to Fight helps explain International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and humanitarian issues by allowing the user to experience what it is like for young people living in situations of armed conflict around the world.
Here is the rest of humanitarian worker Jean-Baptiste Lacombe’s story of his mission in Bangladesh, where over 600,000 people have sought refuge in makeshift camps since August 2017.
Jean-Baptiste Lacombe shares a touching account of his two missions in Bangladesh from January 3 to February 20, 2018, where more than 600,000 people have found refuge after fleeing the violence in Myanmar since summer 2017.
In Bosnia, more than 8,000 people have arrived after travelling sometimes for years. They are looking for a safe place to live, after fleeing violence and conflict. Nicole Robicheau recently spent two weeks listening to stories from these people, and shares one that stood out to her.
Earlier in 2018, the Canadian Red Cross held the Social Innovation Challenge across the country where teams of young Canadians worked to create innovative solutions to support the Red Cross response in Bangladesh - read about the winning solution.