In the year since the tragic train derailment impacted the community of Lac-Mégantic, the
Red Cross has been working within the community to help rebuild and recover. Many people were affected in this disaster, including Réjean Bourque who began volunteering with the Canadian Red Cross from July 6, 2013 when he saw his community in need.
Réjean Bourque is from Disraeli, but as far as people receiving Red Cross assistance are concerned, he is one of the “locals” in Lac-Mégantic.
On site from the earliest moments of the disaster, he has been a key participant in the recovery process for the people of Lac-Mégantic. It must be said that Réjean has always enjoyed helping his community. He has served as a police officer, an ambulance attendant and a firefighter. His years of experience in such occupations helped him maintain a cool head, thereby winning the trust of the local people.
Volunteering to help the community
Given his impeccable ethics and the effectiveness of his work, people might think he had been volunteering for years, but Réjean has been with the Red Cross only since the tragedy that befell Lac Mégantic. He did not
miss a beat in offering assistance to the people of his community, and he was on the first team of spontaneous volunteers trained by the Red Cross.
“Over the first four months, we could see that most of the residents were still in distress, but we gradually saw signs of change. Today, we see a community that is proud, determined to win through, its eyes firmly on the future: the new town of Lac-Mégantic,” he said.
Rebuilding strength and cheerfulness
What makes Mr. Bourque proud to be a Red Cross volunteer is the way people are affected when they receive help.
“One client experienced post-traumatic shock to the extent that it left her speechless when she returned to her apartment, more than a month after the explosion. During her first Red Cross visits, she was completely shattered. The support of the expert team of volunteers enabled her to press on, and she told us she found it a source of energy for her. She still has a long road ahead of her, of course, but with each visit, we can see improvement. For us as volunteers, success comes from seeing someone like that getting her strength back, and her natural cheerfulness.”
While Réjean has been a volunteer only for short time, he continues to be impressed by the way the Red Cross is structured: “I am happy to be a member of an organization of volunteers who care about their neighbours, and to have delivered all these assistance programs with absolute impartiality.”
To learn how to volunteer with Red Cross, visit
www.redcross.ca/volunteer and click
here to donate to help Red Cross be ready to respond to disasters.