Disaster Response (Page 11)

Lok Maya Thapa is the focal person for the Comprehensive Community-Based Health Program in the Khotang District for the Nepal Red Cross Society, she recently shared with us her experiences working during COVID-19.

The health needs in Honduras following Hurricanes Eta and Iota are vast, but it’s not just the physical health needs that we are seeing on the ground. As a country that has been dealing with impacts of economic instability, violence, the COVID-19 pandemic and now, the aftermath of two destructive hurricanes, the mental health needs in Honduras are immense and cannot be ignored.

It was a time of both great joy and profound sadness.
For several weeks, Kara Schiestel worked as an Emergency Care Support Aide with the Canadian Red Cross amid the battle against the spread of COVID-19 in a long-term care home in Manitoba.

Could a simple phone call be the cure for loneliness? Loneliness is of course a complex state of being, but many isolated Canadians are finding reprieve from the often overwhelming feeling through friendly phone calls. Although one phone call may not offer a cure, participants in the Canadian Red Cross Friendly Call Program are finding it does open the door to conversation, friendship, and mutual respect. 

The Horn Youth Services Foundation in Edmonton, Alberta knew it had to find a way to support its community. “Like the rest of Canada, domestic violence is increasing in our community due to COVID-19,” said Khadar Jama, KULAN’s executive director. 
 KULAN successfully applied to the Canadian Red Cross and is now able to continue its programming for high-risk and low-income families.

The Baker Lake Prenatal Nutrition Project has been supporting new mothers and mothers-to-be in the remote Inuit community of Nunavut for 25 years. When the COVID-19 pandemic was declared in the spring of 2020, prenatal and postnatal classes had to be put on hold, but the Project wanted to continue distributing food hampers.

Recognizing the increased need for mental health support during the pandemic, Art Not Shame successfully applied to the Government of Canada’s Emergency Community Support Fund administered by the Canadian Red Cross and launched “The Mural Project: Art in Hard Times” in the summer of 2020.

As COVID-19 cases soar in many countries, the dreaded ‘second wave’ seems to be upon us. Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies across the globe have never stopped working to provide support during this ongoing crisis and remain on the frontlines of the pandemic response. As needs and information change, here are some examples of how the Red Cross is adapting our work to meet these new realities.