World Refugee Day
 |
 |
| |
Eight year old Saidmantu was sent to a refugee camp when authorities believed she was orphaned during civil conflict in Sierra Leone. Eight years later the Red Cross reunites her with her mother. | |
| |
The Red Cross/Red Crescent Movement is part of the support system for the millions of children, women and men who flee their countries to escape conflict and persecution. The Restoring Family Links program plays a vital role in reducing the anguish of nearly one million families separated by war and humanitarian crisis every year. Run primarily by volunteers, the program tracks separated family members and allows them to communicate through Red Cross Messages.
For Johanna Hökeberg, Restoring Family Links manager for the Canadian Red Cross, the program is an expression of the Red Cross’ mission: to improve the lives of vulnerable people by mobilizing the power of humanity in Canada and around the world. “It’s an opportunity to help refugees and migrants re-establish those basic connections that define our lives, our relationships with our families,” says Hökeberg.
Each year more than 1,000 people seek help from the Canadian Red Cross to re-establish contact with their family members. The family messages transmitted by the Red Cross can be very brief, but the three short words "I am alive” may be all that is needed to ease the minds of distraught loved ones half a world away.
Please join us as we recognize the plight faced by millions of refugees around the world, but let us also celebrate the significant contributions refugees make in their new communities.
More information on any of these programs and services can be found here.
