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What does it mean when we say we are responding to a silent disaster?

Thanks to social media and 24-hour news it’s pretty easy to stay informed. But despite all this media coverage around the world there are events that happen every day that are not reported, or are underreported. Some of these events are serious, like famine and outbreaks of disease. We call an event like this a silent disaster.
 

In photos, we take a look at the dedicated work of Syrian Arab Red Crescent volunteers in a time of turmoil. Aleppo and other cities in Syria have been impacted by conflict for the past five years, but volunteers have dedicated their time to helping others throughout.

Love was in the air last week at the Canadian Red Cross office in Fort McMurray. Red Cross caseworker Tiffany Whitford thought her boyfriend Adam Nicholson and their two children Lola and Maddix were stopping by the office to drop off her lunch.

The Democratic Republic of Congo is currently dealing with three epidemics at once: cholera, measles and yellow fever. The Democratic Republic of Congo Red Cross has been a key partner of their government in the fight against these recurrent epidemics, with hundreds of volunteers raising community-level awareness about preventative measures.

After graduating from the nursing program at Queens University, Nicole Edwards made some surprising discoveries about community health. Nicole had just returned to her hometown of Halifax, Nova Scotia, and was seeking ways to occupy her free time while she looked for a job.  She applied to volunteer with the Canadian Red Cross, and was assigned the role of Community Health Transportation volunteer with the Instrumental Activities of Daily Living program.

​In 2012, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child voiced concern about violence against children, including gender-based violence, in Myanmar, noting that there were not adequate resources in place to keep girls and boys safe. In 2013, the Myanmar Red Cross and Canadian Red Cross joined together to work towards violence prevention programs. 

​Cliff Colpitts took his first ever first aid class. It was offered through his workplace. Canadian Red Cross training partner Ron Gillatt instructed the class, teaching important first aid skills – including CPR, which Cliff would later use to save his son’s life.

On Monday, Red Cross rescued 350 people from unsafe boats crossing the Mediterranean to seek safety in Europe. Favourable weather this week has seen an increase in the number of people risking the treacherous journey in search of refuge due to the calmer seas.