The Round-up offers a weekly sample of what our sister Red Cross Societies are working on around the world.
PAKISTAN: Community-based disaster risk reduction (CBDRR) is at the core of the Red Cross Red Crescent recovery program in Pakistan. The thinking goes that if people are better prepared for disasters, they are better able to reduce their losses, and can therefore recover their lives quicker.
CÔTE D’IVOIRE: Although themselves affected by the conflict, and stranded in a downtown office in Abidjan for days, Red Cross volunteers braved the dangerous streets to find and help people in need. They gave first aid and evacuated some of the injured to available health facilities. In addition, the Cote d’Ivoire Red Cross has assisted in the births of 97 children during the country's turmoil in March and April and has distributed over 5,000 litres of potable water to households.
JAPAN: Nozomigaoka, a day care nursing home focused on the physical rehabilitation of elderly people, is one of the centres in Rikuzentakata where the Japanese Red Cross started a post-disaster community service pilot project. For an initial period of one month, four teams of specialized elderly caregivers will take turns to support current staff members and share the workload in the delivery of services to elderly people.