Today, August 19, marks World Humanitarian Day and to honour aid workers and volunteers around the world, we’ve compiled a few stories of people who dedicate their time to humanitarian efforts.
Thanks to Red Cross volunteers like Mike Pudelko, every year, thousands of Canadians receive loans of walkers, canes, crutches and other health equipment, for free. Mike has been volunteering as a technician with the Red Cross Health Equipment Loan Program (HELP) in Alberta for about three years now, and enjoys the work so much that he even comes in on his days off. He was a technician before he retired and brings invaluable experience to the HELP program, as many of the donated items need to be cleaned and repaired before they can be loaned out to people.
“It gets me out of the house and it keeps the mind active, and it keeps you working with people.”
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From Nicaragua to Newfoundland then to Alberta, Aliusha Benoit has always followed her heart in helping others, and began volunteering with Red Cross more than 20 years ago. Aiming to help communities in need, particularly after a disaster, Aly first joined the Red Cross as a disaster relief volunteer in Nicaragua. Aly worked as case management team lead in Calgary for the Canadian Red Cross recovery operation launched after the 2013 Alberta floods. She has helped people rebuild their lives and homes for over two decades and she says she wouldn’t live any other way.
"I cannot imagine anything else more interesting, exciting or rewarding."
Nawaf was three years into a challenging five-year bachelor’s degree in computer and information engineering in Damascus when the ongoing Syrian conflict forced him to put his dreams on pause. He had hoped to stay in Syria’s capital city long enough to finish his degree, but with his home destroyed and attacks escalating in his community, he was forced to follow his family into neighbouring Jordan. Finding community in the midst of chaos prompted Nawaf to look for ways to support his old – and new – neighbours so he found himself volunteering in the Red Cross Red Crescent hospital that provides specialized medical care to Syrian refugees.
“I like working with the Red Cross and learning about humanitarian principles like neutrality and impartiality,” he says. “I like the work, and my friends and colleagues here are like a Red Cross family. I help the Red Cross, and the Red Cross helps the refugees, so my work means something.”
Genelle Leifso is a Canadian Red Cross aid worker from British Columbia, who went to Nepal this summer to help in the Canadian Red Cross field hospital. While there, she shared her impressions working as an operating room nurse at field hospital in the remote community of Dhunche.
“In the operating room, I have been developing a relationship with our cleaner. Since she is young and eager, I am hoping to begin training her to take on some of the less complicated tasks associated with the sterilization process. She has grade 11 but hasn’t yet had a job or gone to college so this would be a wonderful opportunity for her to gain a real life skill.”
John Best from North Bay is no stranger to aid work and has been deploying on missions with the Canadian Red Cross since 2005. When the call came to help in Sierra Leone, one of the countries most affected by the Ebola outbreak, John knew what he had to do. As a technician, John was tasked with some large responsibilities. He ensured that essential resources, such as water and electricity, were consistently available for the Ebola treatment centre in Kono and also set up a power supply for the temporary Red Cross administrative and IT offices in Koidu.
"The world needs more education and understanding of the tough lives lived by people in desperate situations," says John.
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Yazeed and Basil both came to Canada from the Middle East. Yazeed settled here in 2013 and Basil arrived in 2011. They both knew about the Red Cross before applying to volunteer with the disaster management program in Peel Region, Ontario. In fact, Basil had been a volunteer in Syria and coordinated three Red Crescent branches in the northern part of the country. Initially, their reasons for volunteering were quite different. Yazeed was looking for something to do in his free time and Basil was looking to continue his volunteer work with the Red Cross and draw upon his ten years of experience.
Together, they have assisted in large and small scale disasters and these shared experiences have melded their reasons for volunteering.
Want to volunteer? Check out this interactive quiz to find your volunteer type and find more information on volunteering with the Canadian Red Cross here.
Thanks to Red Cross volunteers like Mike Pudelko, every year, thousands of Canadians receive loans of walkers, canes, crutches and other health equipment, for free. Mike has been volunteering as a technician with the Red Cross Health Equipment Loan Program (HELP) in Alberta for about three years now, and enjoys the work so much that he even comes in on his days off. He was a technician before he retired and brings invaluable experience to the HELP program, as many of the donated items need to be cleaned and repaired before they can be loaned out to people.“It gets me out of the house and it keeps the mind active, and it keeps you working with people.”
From Nicaragua to Newfoundland then to Alberta, Aliusha Benoit has always followed her heart in helping others, and began volunteering with Red Cross more than 20 years ago. Aiming to help communities in need, particularly after a disaster, Aly first joined the Red Cross as a disaster relief volunteer in Nicaragua. Aly worked as case management team lead in Calgary for the Canadian Red Cross recovery operation launched after the 2013 Alberta floods. She has helped people rebuild their lives and homes for over two decades and she says she wouldn’t live any other way."I cannot imagine anything else more interesting, exciting or rewarding."
Nawaf was three years into a challenging five-year bachelor’s degree in computer and information engineering in Damascus when the ongoing Syrian conflict forced him to put his dreams on pause. He had hoped to stay in Syria’s capital city long enough to finish his degree, but with his home destroyed and attacks escalating in his community, he was forced to follow his family into neighbouring Jordan. Finding community in the midst of chaos prompted Nawaf to look for ways to support his old – and new – neighbours so he found himself volunteering in the Red Cross Red Crescent hospital that provides specialized medical care to Syrian refugees.“I like working with the Red Cross and learning about humanitarian principles like neutrality and impartiality,” he says. “I like the work, and my friends and colleagues here are like a Red Cross family. I help the Red Cross, and the Red Cross helps the refugees, so my work means something.”
Genelle Leifso is a Canadian Red Cross aid worker from British Columbia, who went to Nepal this summer to help in the Canadian Red Cross field hospital. While there, she shared her impressions working as an operating room nurse at field hospital in the remote community of Dhunche.“In the operating room, I have been developing a relationship with our cleaner. Since she is young and eager, I am hoping to begin training her to take on some of the less complicated tasks associated with the sterilization process. She has grade 11 but hasn’t yet had a job or gone to college so this would be a wonderful opportunity for her to gain a real life skill.”
John Best from North Bay is no stranger to aid work and has been deploying on missions with the Canadian Red Cross since 2005. When the call came to help in Sierra Leone, one of the countries most affected by the Ebola outbreak, John knew what he had to do. As a technician, John was tasked with some large responsibilities. He ensured that essential resources, such as water and electricity, were consistently available for the Ebola treatment centre in Kono and also set up a power supply for the temporary Red Cross administrative and IT offices in Koidu."The world needs more education and understanding of the tough lives lived by people in desperate situations," says John.
Yazeed and Basil both came to Canada from the Middle East. Yazeed settled here in 2013 and Basil arrived in 2011. They both knew about the Red Cross before applying to volunteer with the disaster management program in Peel Region, Ontario. In fact, Basil had been a volunteer in Syria and coordinated three Red Crescent branches in the northern part of the country. Initially, their reasons for volunteering were quite different. Yazeed was looking for something to do in his free time and Basil was looking to continue his volunteer work with the Red Cross and draw upon his ten years of experience. Together, they have assisted in large and small scale disasters and these shared experiences have melded their reasons for volunteering.
Want to volunteer? Check out this interactive quiz to find your volunteer type and find more information on volunteering with the Canadian Red Cross here.
