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It’s an exciting time for some of the people evacuated by the Saskatchewan wildfires who get to return to their communities. There are plenty of smiles as they board buses on their way back home. Most have mentioned looking forward to sleeping in their own beds; others are excited to see their pets.

Lynn MacLeod didn’t worry when she volunteered to fly across the country to help people affected by the Saskatchewan wildfires. She knew that she was well-prepared.

“I’m so happy for all of our Red Cross training! It means I can go anywhere in the country and know how to help,” says MacLeod, who is from Prince Edward Island.

Medical help can sometimes be far away if you’re living in rural and remote First Nations communities in British Columbia. In the past, getting on-call emergency assistance to people in need could be a major challenge. The First Nations Health Authority (FNHA) is working with the Canadian Red Cross to change that.

Selena and her son, Jade, were visiting Prince Albert when they heard people at home in Air Ronge were evacuating because wildfires and heavy smoke threatened their community.
The news meant they couldn't return home, not even for a toothbrush, Selena recalls.

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

At around eight in the morning on a dry Thursday morning during monsoon season, a big Red Cross truck full of relief supplies shows up in front of the local school in the community of Kalikasthan.  Volunteers start unloading hygiene kits, blankets, kitchen sets and tarpaulins.

Canadian Red Cross aid worker Erwan Cheneval recently took on an important role in helping coordinate the flood response caused by Cyclone Chedza in Madagascar. As Operations Manager for the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC), Erwan helped liaise between the Malagasy Red Cross and the IFRC to see the operation through its final two months of implementation.

Getting separated from family during the confusion of a disaster is one of the most frightening things that can happen to people. That's why the role performed during the Saskatchewan wildfires by Red Cross volunteer Barb MacLean is so important.