Community Health 27

Without a doubt, stepping over the threshold to leave an Ebola treatment centre for the last time gives a patient a certain degree of euphoria; against many odds they have survived this highly contagious and deadly disease. However, the grim reality of day-to-day survival looms ahead as many have lost the breadwinner of the family, or their entire family, and their possessions have been destroyed, burned or disinfected with chlorine solution to avoid the further spread of the disease.

To combat stigma, particularly against those who have survived the Ebola virus, the Red Cross is using music and television to spread messages of anti-discrimination.

The Round-up offers a weekly sample of what our sister Red Cross Societies are working on around the world.

Many of us have heard the term Meals on Wheels and understand the gist of what it entails, but the Canadian Red Cross program offers more than you might expect.

Martha Gutierrez knows the importance of the Canadian Red Cross’ Mobile Food Bank, better than almost anyone. Seventeen years ago, Martha and her family were refugees to Canada. She, her two young children and her husband fled their home in Mexico to seek safety after political turbulence.

One year has passed since Typhoon Haiyan devastated the Philippines, on November 8, 2013, affecting more than 16 million people.

Last month, the coastal town of Bamfield, B.C. celebrated the 75^th anniversary of the founding of its outpost hospital, a Red Cross facility that was established on September 7, 1939, just at the beginning of the Second World War. The Red Cross had opened 90 of these remote facilities across Canada to meet the needs of remote and emerging communities.

Jean and Arthur Mosher's experience with Meals on Wheels has come full circle. Both were volunteers over 25 years ago when the Red Cross took over operating the program from a church in the Etobicoke community where Jean and Arthur lived.