Welcome to the Weekly Worldwide 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…
SRI LANKA: In Nugelanda, it’s not just disasters like floods and droughts, but also wild elephant attacks that pose a real danger. The Ampara branch of the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society is distributing flashlights to shoo the elephants away, and also working on other safety measures.
HAITI: More than 1,000 trained Haitian Red Cross volunteers have now fanned out across the country to provide important and potentially lifesaving hygiene information to help prevent the spread of cholera.
The January earthquake not only left thousands of newly disabled Haitians without legs and arms, it also completely destroyed one of the most important rehabilitation clinics in Haiti designed to provide long-term specialized care. The American Red Cross and ICRC are now helping to fund the reconstruction of this rehab clinic and its workshop and training facilities.
PHILIPPINES and INDONESIA: University students took part in international humanitarian law moot court competitions organized, in part, by the ICRC.
GLOSSARY:
IFRC = International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies