August 30 marks International Day of the Disappeared – a day to remember those who have suffered  from the traumatic experience of a disappeared  family member and to provide help and hope for those still searching.

In the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the Red Cross is not only helping to improve the healthcare infrastructure, such as adding gravity-fed water supply systems for hospitals, but also helping to build greenhouses on the outskirts of cities to supplement vegetable production.

When Heather Cousins, a community health nurse from Woodstock, N.B., was recently on assignment with the Canadian Red Cross at an Ebola treatment centre in Sierra Leone, she and her co-workers let off steam by dancing and singing songs that pleaded for Ebola  to “go away”.  Today, their wish seems closer to being realized, as Sierra Leone has marked its first week of no new Ebola cases nationwide since the outbreak began nearly 15 months ago.

It may seem contradictory that Canadian Red Cross aid worker Nicolas Verdy first got a degree in anthropology, and then went on to study computer technology, but for this Montreal native, it is proving to be an ideal basis for his humanitarian career.

All is abuzz at as preparations get underway for the handover of the Canadian Red Cross field hospital (ERU) to the District Health Office in Dhunche, Nepal. Orders are being filled to replenish medicines and equipment; boxes are being counted and recounted for accuracy; and the din of ongoing training sessions for doctors and nurses continues, punctuated only by the laughter of children playing in the nearby psychosocial support tent.

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

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.

A recent spike in hostilities, including the intense ground fighting, has heightened the suffering of Yemen’s civilian population. It is estimated that since March, nearly 4,000 people have been killed, 19,000 injured and 1.3 million people have been forced to flee their homes. Severe shortages of water, food and fuel continue across the country as well as airstrikes and ground fighting.