This summer, British Columbia saw more than 1,600 wildfires recorded in the province, burning over 868,000 hectares of land, and forcing thousands of people to evacuate their homes throughout the province.
More than 200 Canadian Red Cross volunteers from across the country arrived to help support individuals, families and communities affected by the wildfires.
Part of their role was to refer them to relevant information and community resources, provide financial assistance to eligible households, and provide hygiene kits to those who are still living out of a suitcase and home cleaning kits to others who have been authorized to go back to their homes.
We highlight the experience of three volunteers who were present for this endeavour:
Meet Cheryl Horgan, who is pictured above. Describing her experiences at the frontline of BC wildfires, Cheryl tells us that the experiences of those who are affected by wildfires, “really need to be heard”.
“It’s a horrible thing to happen in life, so when [they] reach out and decide to share their story, to have somebody reach back with love, it means a lot,” Cheryl says. “Being able to provide this support is just a beautiful thing to do.”
The second picture featured is of first-time volunteer Karar Al-mamaar. He says he was humbled by the courage and resilience of the people he met in Lytton, some of whom had lost everything.
Lastly, we feature Zeinab Jawad, who visited the Skeetchestn Indian Band territory. Zaineb sat with an Elder who prayed in her presence:
“In the prayer, she included me, my community and where I come from. It was very touching and emotional.”
Emergency response volunteers are crucial members of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.
Many times, the very volunteers who spend their time selflessly helping others have also been personally affected by the disaster they are responding to. Many volunteers have themselves been displaced, lost their homes or lost loved ones, and still choose to help others.
Many volunteers this occasion chose to help in an already stressful and hard pandemic.
For this reason, we send a heartfelt thank you to the 200 volunteers who joined the Canadian Red Cross in supporting those affected by the B.C. wildfires in June 2021. Your selfless support was vital in our emergency response.
If you have volunteered with the Red Cross and need mental health support, you can access some helpful resources in the link below.
https://youtu.be/Wt54TiCxYmM
