Canadian Red Cross

Last week, the Canadian Red Cross Community Mapping team hosted the first mapathon in collaboration with the McGill Open Mapping Group and McGill Geographic Information Centre👏🗺️ Mapathons are organized with the goal to contribute and improve maps using OpenStreetMap. Over 20 students gathered to update geographic data of specific regions of the southwestern shore of Montreal, where communities are at a higher risk of flooding. Mapping helps humanitarian organizations and communities prepare for and respond to disasters. Having accurate and up-to-date maps is critical during emergencies and disasters as they help emergency responders act quickly and effectively during a response. “It’s hard to do any emergency response or recovery if you don’t know what’s on the ground,” says Sophia Chen, GIS Officer with the Canadian Red Cross. The Canadian Red Cross Community Mapping team continues to collaborate with the McGill Open Mapping Group and McGill Geographic Information Centre, with monthly mapathons starting in Winter of 2025.

The Honduran Red Cross (Cruz Roja Hondureña) has been making a significant difference in the lives of those impacted by large-scale migration and internal displacement in Honduras, by providing vital support to migrants arriving in Tegucigalpa. Offering a safe space for those in transit, this clinic provides individuals and families with access to humanitarian services, information, food, hygiene, and other critical supports. Female staff and volunteers play a key role in comforting and assisting migrants, including children and infants, during this distressing journey. This initiative has been further made possible through the ongoing support of various partners and donors, including the Canadian Red Cross. Watch Honduran Red Cross personnel Daysy Ortiz, Melissa López and Alejandra Rodríquez share how these services are helping people in real time.

When wildfires in Alberta forced thousands of people to evacuate last year, some had to make the heart-wrenching decision to be separated from their pets. That’s where the Alberta Animal Rescue Crew Society (AARCS) stepped in. They rescued and cared for hundreds of pets until they could be reunited with their families. AARCS is one of over 125 community groups that received funding from the Canadian Red Cross with the support of generous donors, the Government of Alberta, and the Government of Canada, to help them meet the urgent needs of impacted communities from the 2023 Alberta Wildfires. The Canadian Red Cross is committed to helping people throughout their recovery journey, resilience efforts in response to wildfires, as well as supporting community preparedness and risk reduction for future all-hazard disaster events within Alberta.

Swifties, this might be your most important era yet—CPR trained era!✨ We had a valuable discussion with CTV News at our Toronto office on how some Taylor Swift songs can help keep the beat during CPR. Any song from your favorite artist with a 100–120 bpm can help you keep the right tempo. Watch now: https://brnw.ch/21wOXUD Sign up for a CPR course today: https://brnw.ch/21wOXUC

On this International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and the start of #16Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence, we reiterate our commitment to helping prevent all forms of violence against women, girls, and those who are gender non-conforming. There is an alarming escalation of violence against women⬇️ 🟠 Every 10 minutes, a woman is killed. (UN Women) 🟠 1 in 3 women experience violence in their lifetime. (WHO) 🟠 70% of women in conflict, war, and humanitarian crisis experience gender-based violence. (OCHA) 🟠 61% of Indigenous women in Canada experience significant intimate partner violence, due to intersecting forms of discrimination and inequality. (Government of Canada) The Canadian Red Cross works in partnership with key stakeholders, law enforcement, community-based organizations and governments, including Indigenous leadership to address sexual and gender-based violence in Canada and internationally. #NoExcuse Learn more about sexual and gender-based violence and how to be part of the solution: https://brnw.ch/21wOXqY

With support from the Canadian Red Cross, the Government of Canada Global Affairs Canada | Affaires mondiales Canada has sent 5,000 blankets and 1,000 hygiene kits to Lebanese Red Cross to help with ongoing humanitarian efforts in Lebanon. This support was funded through an initiative to provide essential emergency supplies to people impacted by crisis. The blankets and hygiene kits will be distributed by the Lebanese Red Cross to people impacted by the crisis. For more information on the Red Cross response to the situation in Lebanon, visit https://lnkd.in/e68MZhCS

This week, the Canadian Red Cross met with Halifax Security Forum (HFX) Peace With Women Fellows to talk about the role of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, health in emergencies, operational considerations for humanitarian actors, and our humanitarian principles. The HFX Peace With Women Fellowship in an annual program for women senior military officers from NATO member and partner countries. The Fellows tour the political, military and technological centres of the United States and Canada to discuss current trends and challenges, propose innovative solutions and apply what they learn in their home countries. Featured speakers from the Canadian Red Cross at this week’s session were Askar Umarbekov, Head of Europe Region, Dr. Faiza Rab, Senior Manager, Health in International Long-Term Programming, and Catherine Gribbin, Senior Legal Advisor IHL.

Photo of the Week: This year, #Nepal is experiencing an unusual monsoon season. With an earlier onset and anticipated longer duration, the weather trends are far from typical. In September, unprecedented rainfall resulted in devastating flooding and landslides across the country. Nepal Red Cross Society teams quickly took action to prepare communities for evacuation, arrange shelters and preposition relief items with transport vehicles on standby. Over 50,000 people have been affected by the disaster, leaving many in need of humanitarian aid. The Nepal Red Cross Society continues to respond by increasing distributions of household items while also planning for transitional shelter solutions for many households. Through the Emergency Disaster Assistance Fund, the Government of Canada ( Global Affairs Canada | Affaires mondiales Canada ) is supporting the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies - IFRC Disaster Response Emergency Fund to help the Nepal Red Cross Society ramp up response efforts with the quickly approaching winter season to ensure people get the support they need. Photo Credit: Danish Red Cross

The Honduran Red Cross Cruz Roja Hondureña is providing essential care to people impacted by the ongoing large-scale migration and internal displacement, through clinics located at multiple checkpoints across the country. In Danlí, one such humanitarian services clinic is a welcome sight, offering migrants life-saving assistance on their perilous journey while crossing the Darien Gap, including through supports such as hygiene kits, water, first aid, psychosocial support, prehospital care, and family reunification services. Watch Miguel Ángel Díaz, coordinator at the Honduran Red Cross, share how, supported by the Canadian Red Cross, this clinic is making a difference to those in need, and helping in the delivery of local health services and humanitarian support.

Are you prepared to save a life? Test your CPR knowledge! ⬇️ Sign up for a CPR course and be prepared to save a life: https://myrc.redcross.ca/