English Blog Categories 185

Sirens piercing, phones ringing, and voices shouting above the din. People rushing in and out of chaos – hyper-focused on the urgency of their tasks. Enter Donald Bourne – an emergency response senior advisor for the Red Cross – who thrives in crisis situations. Bourne has worked on everything from fires and floods in Alberta to conflict zones and disasters around the world.

Canadian Red Cross volunteer Russell Barton is motivated by knowing his actions will positively affect people in the future. That’s one of the many reasons he is a dedicated disaster management volunteer with Red Cross in Saskatchewan.

Erin Kielly is a strong, proud Red Cross volunteer on Prince Edward Island. Erin began volunteering with Red Cross following her graduation from university, first in disaster management and subsequently as a member of the Red Cross Provincial Advisory Council and the Atlantic Council.

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

Did you know that in 140 characters or less or by posting on Facebook you can help the Canadian Red Cross carry out our mission during a disaster. Meet two members of the Social Team who love what they do. 

Jane Belyk delicate fingers weave effortlessly between her needle and wool. Her scarf is nearly done – dancing colours of blue, green and a pale yellow fill her design. She is among a group of seven ladies sitting around a table at the Canadian Red Cross office in Calgary, like they do every Tuesday, knitting blankets and other material to local community groups, such as the Sheldon Kennedy Advocacy Centre and Raido Youth Transition House.

Not only has Canadian Red Cross volunteer Jennifer Duke Holmes been able to support the Red Cross as a disaster management volunteer, but she has also used her expertise in film production to capture the Red Cross on video.

Natural disasters like storms, earthquakes and floods make news around the world, but health emergencies are silently affecting hundreds of millions of lives every year. The recent Ebola outbreak in Guinea—which the Red Cross is working to help contain—is a rare example of public health emergencies becoming global news. One of the most silent, and rapidly growing, health emergencies in the spread of dengue fever, a disease spread by mosquitos.