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. It’s a non-comprehensive sampling of the larger and/or more intriguing aspects of our global work…
[The place names link to maps so that you can get a quick idea of the region.]
ICELAND: When a volcano in Eyjafjallajokull glacier erupted in the middle of the night, more than 40 Icelandic Red Crossers sprung into action, registering 600 evacuees and providing overnight shelter and psychosocial support for some 120 people.
LATIN AMERICA: As it has previously done in Azerbaijan and Georgia, the ICRC is fighting the spread of TB in Latin American prisons.
KUWAIT: The families of six Iraqis detained in Kuwait in connection with the 1990-1991 Gulf War have begun a three-day visit to their relatives facilitated by the ICRC.
NIGER: The ICRC has distributed food and household items to more than 10,000 displaced persons and local residents who have been affected by inter-community violence in the Tillabéri region of western Niger.
CHILE: Spanish Red Cross volunteers workers are setting up psychosocial support programs – training teachers to cope with kids’ fears and holding therapeutic sessions with groups of people affected by the earthquake.
HAITI: The ICRC is helping to repair and maintain water networks and restoring dignity to the elderly with projects like installing ventilated improved pit latrines – some adapted for wheelchair users.
SRI LANKA: Since the 2004 tsunami, the ground water in the drought-prone town of Potuvil has become brackish and undrinkable. The IFRC – together with support from the American, Swedish and Irish Red Cross societies – is helping to provide a new sustainable water supply.