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The Guay-Bourbonnais family home, in Marieville, Quebec, was completely destroyed by a violent fire. 
“I didn’t want help. I just couldn’t accept that I was a disaster victim,” recalls the mother of the family, Caroline. However, in the midst of the chaos, two Red Cross volunteers approached her and said “This disaster has affected you. It’s okay to let yourself be helped.”

Students today are bombarded with images and headlines of humanitarian crises. The Syrian refugee crisis and violations of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) around the world have made humanitarian education in the classroom more relevant than ever. The Canadian Red Cross offers Exploring Humanitarian Law Educator Trainings to teachers across the country, where participants learn the basic rules of International Humanitarian Law, also known as the law of armed conflict.

When Peter Derban visited the Red Cross office in Fort McMurray, he shared a poem written about his experiences during the Alberta fires. Through his poetry, he is sure to give credit where credit is due.
 
‘Fire department in Fort Mac like angels work hard, all day and night.
They are tired, won’t give up. Evil flames they fight, nonstop.”

The Round-up offers a weekly sample of what our sister Red Cross Societies are working on around the world. Here is an update on Red Cross response to disasters in Syria, Niger and Korea.

In photos, we take a look at the dedicated work of Syrian Arab Red Crescent volunteers in a time of turmoil. Aleppo and other cities in Syria have been impacted by conflict for the past five years, but volunteers have dedicated their time to helping others throughout.

Love was in the air last week at the Canadian Red Cross office in Fort McMurray. Red Cross caseworker Tiffany Whitford thought her boyfriend Adam Nicholson and their two children Lola and Maddix were stopping by the office to drop off her lunch.

The Democratic Republic of Congo is currently dealing with three epidemics at once: cholera, measles and yellow fever. The Democratic Republic of Congo Red Cross has been a key partner of their government in the fight against these recurrent epidemics, with hundreds of volunteers raising community-level awareness about preventative measures.

After graduating from the nursing program at Queens University, Nicole Edwards made some surprising discoveries about community health. Nicole had just returned to her hometown of Halifax, Nova Scotia, and was seeking ways to occupy her free time while she looked for a job.  She applied to volunteer with the Canadian Red Cross, and was assigned the role of Community Health Transportation volunteer with the Instrumental Activities of Daily Living program.