On Friday, the Canadian Red Cross deployed its new field hospital to Haiti. It is the first time that a Red Cross hospital has been deployed from anywhere in the Americas. A team of experts from across Canada, including physicians, nurses and logistical experts have also been sent to Haiti, delegated to work in the Red Cross hospital to help those affected by cholera. Our very own Katie Kallio, of the Canadian Red Cross, travelled to Haiti with the Emergency Response Unit in her role as Information and Reporting Delegate. We will be posting her updates over the coming weeks. Here is her first blog:
** Guest blog by Katie Kallio, Information and Reporting Delegate for the Canadian Red Cross
* Photos by Sophie Chavanel, Canadian Red Cross
The Canadian Red Cross Emergency Response Unit (ERU) team met at the airport in Ottawa at 4:30AM Friday ready to begin our journey to Haiti. The day was long – about 12 hours of travel, four different airports - and the team was starting to get a bit tired by the time we arrived. When we landed in Port-au-Prince I heard whispers from within our team, whispers that quickly grew to cheers and applause. I turned to see what all the excitement was about, and there she was…. our field hospital!
Now, to the average eye, this could easily be mistaken for one of the many cargo shipments that regularly arrive at the airport. But to our team, who had just spent the last week living in the hospital during a training exercise in Brampton, Ontario, we knew exactly what this shipment was! These were not just boxes; they were the makings of a much-needed cholera treatment centre. Our team cheered and waved excitedly at our fellow Canadian Red Cross team members helping to offload and then, buzzing with excitement, we headed to Base Camp to set up our tents and get some sleep.
**You can also get updates from the field hospital in Haiti by following our delegates on Twitter using the hashtag #CRCeru