*Photos by Johan Hallberg-Campbell
There are 92 people living in this dwelling in Attawapiskat
Red Cross volunteers arriving at a housing shelter in Attawapiskat
A house in Attawapiskat lacking proper insulation
Canadian Red Cross volunteers working with community members preparing supplies for distribution
Visiting a family
Loading up a truck of supplies from the Canadian Red Cross
Delivering supplies in Attawapiskat
A box of supplies to be distributed
Raymond helping Red Cross volunteers distribute supplies. He also helps to translate English to Cree
Packing up supplies to put on the truck
Children at a local sportsplex
Returning to the storage unit to replenish supplies
A woman receiving supplies, including a floor mat, from the Canadian Red Cross
A house in Attawapiskat
A man tries on gloves delivered by the Canadian Red Cross
A community member, Dennis, helping the Canadian Red Cross
A glove on the dashboard of the truck
Delivering supplies
More delivering
Family just received supplies from the Red Cross
A family in a housing shelter. Red Cross brought sleeping bags for families
The local community is helping the Red Cross to distribute supplies
A dwelling in Attawapiskat
Red Cross volunteer Jenn Moore. The Red Cross is distributing items such as sleeping bags, floor mats, winter clothing
It's been about -30 degrees in Attawapiskat. This photo was taken near the airport.
Children walking home
Red Cross volunteer Jim Lanthier from Timmins shown here in the red vest is preparing to deliver supplies
Attawapiskat at about 4p.m.
Working with the local community
Homes in Attawapiskat
Red Crossers wrapping up a day of deliveries
Canadian Red Cross volunteers continue to work on the ground in Attawapiskat, delivering supplies to the homes of the community’s most vulnerable.
The Red Cross is committed to making sure families living in houses without proper insulation have the items they need to stay warm. As such, we have worked with community officials to identify which families are in need of items such as sleeping bags, heaters and warm winter clothing.
To reduce transportation costs, the items are being shipped from Timmins, the nearest city. As soon as a plane full of Red Cross supplies arrives, the cargo is taken to a storage unit. Volunteers sort the cargo out to make it easier for distribution.
Community members have been assisting the Red Cross with translation and driving the volunteers to each home in need. The people of Attawapiskat are members of a proud community and it is with a great sense of humility and appreciation that they receive our support.
Within two days of a plane landing, the supplies are completely delivered.
Back in Timmins, other Red Crossers continue to work to procure more supplies and arrange for those items to be flown over. It is costly to transport goods to this fly-in community.
Thankfully, local airlines, including Thunder Air, Wasaya and Air Creebec have been working with the Canadian Red Cross, offering some free flights for volunteers and discounted rates for cargo.
The next load of supplies from the Canadian Red Cross is expected to arrive in Attawapiskat on Thursday, with more to come over the next several days.