Worldwide Wednesday Wrap-Up
Welcome to the Worldwide Wednesday Wrap-Up, in which we consolidate the international Red Cross and Red Crescent news into one list of bite-sized links for you…
[The place names link to maps so that you can get a quick idea of the region.]
CHINA: A year after the Sichuan earthquake, new school buildings – built with the support of Red Cross Society of China and the LG conglomerate of South Korea – are nearing completion. In the meantime, students are dealing with grief through painting and pandas.
The American Red Cross is helping 34,000 families rebuild their homes, providing clean water and preparing communities to know what to do in future disasters. (Watch this video for more on the recovery efforts.)
SRI LANKA: Civilians are caught in the midst of the fighting – lacking food and water, and often hiding in shelters or trenches to protect themselves. So far the ICRC has evacuated 14,000 people, but there are still thousands more trapped.
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO: Last week armed men raided the village of Butalongola, burning down 135 houses. The ICRC brought emergency aid to the 675 victims.
PAKISTAN: At least 360,000 people have fled Swat, Dir and Buner in recent days. (Bringing the total number of internally displaced people to over 900,000.) The ICRC has set up a hospital for the weapon-wounded and is supporting the Pakistan Red Crescent efforts to provide shelter.
CHAD: Following violent clashes that have pitted government troops against fighters of the Union of Resistance Forces in eastern Chad, the ICRC is providing medical assistance and has begun to visit people captured in the fighting.
AFGHANISTAN: Drought. Earthquake. Violence… It’s easy to see why this is one of the ICRC’s biggest operations worldwide. In April alone, workers provided emergency assistance, food aid, health services, prosthetic limb-fitting, water sanitation and detainee visits.
IRAQ: Among their many activities, ICRC workers are helping disabled people return to society and earn a living.
GAZA: What was a border wall becomes part of a water treatment plant that will serve 175,000 inhabitants. Says an ICRC engineer, “Humanitarian organizations such as the ICRC are forced either to come up with alternative and creative ways of proceeding or to put essential projects on hold.”
MALDIVES: A new National Red Crescent Society is soon to be established in the Republic of Maldives – a very helpful thing for an island nation vulnerable to tsunamis.