Disaster Response (Page 20)

The Canadian Red Cross and the American Red Cross have a long-standing relationship supporting each other during large disasters. Therefore, it isn’t surprising that when Hurricane Florence first made landfall the Canadian Red Cross was ready to send staff and volunteers over to help. 

The Canadian Red Cross has sent operations and communications personnel to support the American Red Cross response to Hurricane Florence. Below are reflections from three Canadians based in Wilmington, NC.

On disaster responses, there are many different jobs that make the operation possible. In addition to volunteers and staff working face-to-face with those affected, there are also numerous behind-the-scenes responders who help keep the operation running smoothly. Canadian Red Cross volunteer David Rennie of Halifax, Nova Scotia is one such volunteer.

Over the last few years, some humanitarian crises have attracted worldwide attention, such as the 2015 earthquake in Nepal and Hurricane Matthew in 2016.  Despite the avalanche of coverage these emergencies generate, there exist other emergencies that are “silent” and slip under the radar of the media  and the general public. While under reported, the affected populations still have urgent needs to be met.

During major disasters, many of you write us to offer your help in the form of donations or volunteering. We are always deeply touched by the tremendous outpouring of care and compassion towards those affected.
 

At the beginning of September, I had the opportunity to travel to Prince George, B.C. in response to the B.C. Wildfires as a Communications Responder. During my time there, I had a chance to experience, support, and learn about the operations of a disaster response for the first time. If I had to describe my deployment experience in two words I’d say: eye-opening and fulfilling. Here are three insights that best capture my deployment experience:

Twenty-four years after my very first mission with the Red Cross, I am grateful to be back in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The context this time is totally different from the one that had brought me to this country for my debut in the humanitarian world. Then it was a man-made catastrophe, the genocide in Rwanda. Now, it is nature’s work. Ebola, the deadly virus that killed thousands of people in West Africa, is back for the ninth time in the DRC.

Recently I was invited to visit James Smith Cree Nation for their Community Health Fair where an Elder approached me and said “Hello, I have a story and I want you to write it down.”