Community Health (Page 27)

Every year more than 20,000 Albertans are loaned walkers, canes, crutches and other health equipment, for free, thanks to Canadian Red Cross volunteers like Mike Pudelko.

Pudelko has been volunteering as a technician with the Red Cross Health Equipment Loan Program (HELP) for about three years now, and enjoys the work so much that he even comes in on his days off. 

This is the story of Ebola survivor Fatmata Amara, approximately 60 years old, as told to Anna MacSwan, British Red Cross.

When we first found out that Ebola had come to Komende Luyama, I felt bad because it was my daughter who had been the initial patient.

Without a doubt, stepping over the threshold to leave an Ebola treatment centre for the last time gives a patient a certain degree of euphoria; against many odds they have survived this highly contagious and deadly disease. However, the grim reality of day-to-day survival looms ahead as many have lost the breadwinner of the family, or their entire family, and their possessions have been destroyed, burned or disinfected with chlorine solution to avoid the further spread of the disease.

As we mark International Women’s Day, we want to share the moving story of Mama, a mother from Mali, where we are working to improve the lives and overall health of both women and children.

To combat stigma, particularly against those who have survived the Ebola virus, the Red Cross is using music and television to spread messages of anti-discrimination.

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

Many of us have heard the term Meals on Wheels and understand the gist of what it entails, but the Canadian Red Cross program offers more than you might expect.