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Canadian singer-songwriter Elly Thorn was inspired to write “You Didn’t Even Know Me” when she and her husband were travelling and, although their surroundings were foreign to them, she was struck by how extremely welcoming their hosts were. Now Elly is using her song to help welcome Syrian refugees to their new home in Canada – with proceeds from the song going to the Canadian Red Cross.

We met many of our American Red Cross friends this past May when they joined us to help during the Alberta wildfires in Canada, and we jumped at the opportunity to head south of the border to assist residents of North Carolina, following devastating flooding from Hurricane Matthew.

“Every day I see children suffering from the after-effects of having lost their homes or close family members,” said Emilie Gauthier-Paré. Psychosocial delegate with the Canadian Red Cross in Haiti, Émilie is a member of the mobile health clinic team making daily visits to remote villages of Grande Anse in the southwest of the country that was devastated by Hurricane Matthew.

It’s hard to believe, but many parts of the developing world that are most vulnerable to humanitarian crises, like natural disasters, disease outbreaks, epidemics or conflict, are still not mapped digitally or on paper.  Without comprehensive maps, response times can drastically increase during natural disasters or disease outbreaks making it harder to reach people who need help.

Monday, Nov 7th marked one year since the end of Ebola in Sierra Leone. In commemoration of this milestone, and in recognition of the 3,956 people who died here, the public across the country were encouraged to wear yellow ribbons or yellow clothing and observe three minutes of silence at 11:00 in the morning. Flags flew at  half-mast.

At the Canadian Red Cross we know how important having an emergency kit is, and we were looking for a new way to get the word out. So we turned to BUNZ Trading Zone. 

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is an impartial, neutral and independent organization whose mission is to protect the lives and dignity of victims of armed conflict and other situations of violence, and to provide them with assistance. There are over 14,500 ICRC aid workers assisting the most vulnerable in 80 countries affected by conflict. These aid workers risk their own lives operating in conflict zones such as in Somalia, Yemen and Malaysia while caring for others. So how does the international community ensure their protection?

Just in time for national Bullying Awareness Week, the Ministry of Human Services of the Province of Alberta has named the Red Cross’s anti-bullying education program as one of the winners of the 2016 Inspiration Award in the category of Leadership in Prevention of Bullying.