International Aid Work (Page 12)

Inside the isolation tents at the Red Cross Red Crescent field hospital in Bangladesh, the air is still. Six kids fight measles, although at some points over the past weeks nearly all 20 beds have been filled at once. Little lungs work to fill as respiratory tract infections are the hallmark of this disease.

Recently, I had the chance to chat with four women aid workers, who have been on a combined 35 missions for the Red Cross. They talked about why they do this kind of work, what keeps them driven, and what it is like being a woman in the field. 

It’s been three months since waves of people started arriving in Bangladesh by the thousands. Now, at least 621,000 people have fled violence in Myanmar since August 25, joining more than 300,000 who left earlier. That’s almost one million people. But nine-year-old Nur Kiyas doesn’t want to be just one in million.

It’s hard enough to help people when you clearly see the pain, exhaustion or panic on their faces. But when thousands file past in the dark, as they arrive from Myanmar at the Bangladesh transit centre - stumbling, moaning or just staring blankly - all a small team of Canadian doctors and nurses could do was try their best.

Sandra Damota, a Canadian psychosocial worker currently in Bangladesh, shares some of her experiences working as a member of an international Red Cross team helping thousands living in camps in Bangladesh after fleeing their homes due to violence in Myanmar.

"That [photo] was actually a really powerful moment as we prepared to support the Canadian mobile health team with the arrival of about 2,500 refugees into the transit camp from the border."

Imagine having to escape violence in your home country. You pick up what you can, but you need to leave right now, what would you take? There are thousands of others doing the same. The violence may be right at your door, you may become separated from family and friends in the chaos. Now you need to travel to another country and find shelter there. ​Since October 2016, this has been the reality for hundreds of thousands of people who have fled violence in Rakhine State, Myanmar into Bangladesh.

A child’s terrible drawing of violence in Myanmar. People in crowded Bangladesh camps gently welcoming those who want to help them. Eager volunteers from the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society also pitching in with much-needed assistance. Just days after arriving, these are a few early impressions from members of the Canadian Red Cross mobile medical team and their Mexican Red Cross colleagues.

For Dr. Salim Sohani, a 35-year career in medicine, global health, and health promotion is not a job, but a passion. “It’s fulfilling and satisfying because it gives me the opportunity to make a difference and put a smile on the face of people,” says Dr. Sohani, a medical doctor who joined the Canadian Red Cross in 2008 after years of humanitarian work in Africa.