International 4

Hit by several significant emergencies in recent years, the 7.2 magnitude earthquake that struck Haiti on August 14 caused more damage, destroying critical infrastructure resulting in more than 2,180 deaths, more than 12,200 injuries, and 298 people missing so far. The Red Cross has been working to meet the urgent needs of people impacted since the first moments after the earthquake occurred. 

Jules Zanré, a Montrealer originally from Burkina Faso, has spent the last 10 years improving access to health care for mothers, newborns, and children in many rural communities of Mali.

In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, as information began to flow into Canada about how serious this disease might become, Alberta Health Services started ramping up their testing capacity. Some 10,000 kilometres away in Southeast Asia, the Philippine Red Cross took notice.

Lucia Lasso is one of two full-time Head of Emergency Operations with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), which means she’s almost always thinking about disasters. But even when she’s not actively engaged in an operation, she spends her time thinking about how the Red Cross can respond to emergencies more effectively. This includes encouraging other women to aspire to positions of leadership.

Can you think about the last time you started a new job? How everything was new for you, processes were confusing. Now, imagine that this new job is responding to the resurgence of Ebola in a neighbouring country during a pandemic. This is the tough job Jimmy Zaka Mansongele had to face when he was sent to the Republic of Congo as an Operations Manager for the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC).

“Learning sewing came to me as a blessing for myself and the community,” Minara Begum, a resident in Camp 5 said fondly. Minara lives in the camp, with her parents. They had been living on aid provided from different agencies for people who fled from violence in the Rakhine state of Myanmar.

Ten years ago, on the afternoon of March 11, 2011, a magnitude 9 earthquake triggered a tsunami along Japan’s Pacific coast. Villages, towns and cities along a 70-kilometre stretch of coastline were damaged or destroyed. More than 15,000 people lost their lives. Canadian Red Cross humanitarian worker Kathy Mueller went to Japan to support the Japanese Red Cross in its immediate response to the tsunami. This is her story.

If you’re a teacher or educator, you may be wondering how to introduce your students to global societal issues like armed conflict. It’s a big subject! Fortunately, tackling global issues such as war and peace from the lens of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) can help students understand states’ responsibilities in reducing suffering and protecting civilians.