The Red Cross Round-up

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

GREECE: Today, Greece is now bearing the greatest share of the burden of migration in Europe. Since the beginning of the year, more than 160,000 people have arrived in the country, the vast majority by crossing the Aegean sea to one of the many islands close to the Turkish coast. Kos is one of the islands that has received a large number of people migrating to Europe, as it is one of the closest points to Turkey. As the number of people arriving on the island rose over the past months, the Kos branch of Hellenic Red Cross has struggled to provide assistance to those who have so little. They have used resources raised locally to help those in need, but the assistance they could offer was little more than a drop in the ocean. On August 18, the first day of distributions, some 350 people received food and hygiene items. Blankets and infant packs including sanitary items were also given to those caring for babies.

INDIA: The floods came as a huge shock to people in drought-prone parts of Gujarat, India.  Most people live in mud brick houses not built to withstand heavy rain. The Red Cross team joined government helpers and other agencies to search for people who had evacuated to assess their needs and provide emergency relief. Since June 2015, floods have struck the Indian states of West Bengal, Gujarat, Odisha, Manipur, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Assam. In total, the floods affected 13.7 million people, displaced more than one million and claimed nearly 300 lives. The Red Cross has been in action since before the onset of the floods, helping people evacuate to temporary shelter sites and safer places, distributing tarpaulins, tents, sheets, blankets, mosquito nets, kitchen sets, towels and plastic buckets.