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Le 26 décembre 2004, un tremblement de terre de magnitude de 9,1 au large de la côte nord de Sumatra a provoqué un tsunami qui a fait plus de 226 000 victimes et causé des destructions massives dans les zones côtières de 14 pays.
 

While most of us will be spending the holidays with our families and friends, we wanted to highlight the special individuals working with the Canadian Red Cross who have sacrificed their holidays here at home to help those in need overseas. 

Je pars dans cinq jours. Des amies, affligées par l’annonce de mon départ, prennent le temps de m’envoyer par courriel une description des souffrances d’un médecin qui a contracté le virus d’Ebola en Sierra Leone. Je l’avais lu cet article. Oui, je le sais, ce virus est un beau salaud… Oui, j’ai peur parfois, mais je ne pars pas sur un coup de tête, ni pour devenir une héroïne.
 

Social worker Lindsay Jones recently arrived at the Red Cross Ebola treatment centre in Kenema, Sierra Leone. The Ottawa resident is there to provide psychosocial support to patients being treated for the virus. She describes some of the heartwarming and heartbreaking moments she has experienced. 

I’m not sure how many people know that I am a Personal Disaster Assistance volunteer with the Red Cross in Ottawa, but I wanted to take a minute to talk about the amazing work I get to do, and how you can support a very worthy cause.

Depuis le passage du typhon Hagupit aux Philippines au début du mois, la Croix-Rouge philippine s’est mobilisée pour fournir des secours d'urgence et évaluer les dommages dans la région durement touchée de l'île de Samar. 

Since Typhoon Hagupit made landfall in the Philippines earlier this month, the Philippine Red Cross has been busy providing emergency relief and assessing damage in the hard-hit area of Samar Island.

The Red Cross has set up a basic health care unit in Dolores, Eastern Samar Province to provide services until health care facilities in the area can resume normal activities, with technical support for this clinic being provided by the Canadian Red Cross. 

The days are flying by, a blur of highs and lows. We move from gut-wrenching tragedy to clapping, dancing celebration in the three steps it takes to cross between patients. Three steps more, back to tragedy again.
 
Yesterday, we had a six-year-old girl arrive in an ambulance full of suspected Ebola cases. She came with no contact information. We weren’t even sure of her name. Today, she died with one of our team, dressed in full protective gear, holding her hand.