CGR NEWS

The blow-by-blow of what to expect from Hurricane Fiona.

SYRIA - As each day of the Syrian conflict passes, the childhood and futures of many Syrian children are threatened.

Children enjoying a meal in the park while their parents take part in English Café.

BAHAMAS - Many people have been displaced as homes have been destroyed by the powerful storm.

ALBERTA - Canadian Global Response in partnership with the Alberta Emergency Management Agency is monitoring the wildfires that have been burning uncontrollably in Northern Alberta.

TORONTO - The Greater Toronto Area (GTA) is one of the most diverse places in the world with people from over 200 different countries living in the city. Over half the population of the GTA was born outside of Canada and new immigrants are coming into the city by the tens of thousands every year.

ATHENS - I recently returned from my second volunteer trip with Canadian Global Response (CGR) serving refugees in Athens.

ATHENS - My time last year volunteering with CGR in Greece was eye-opening in more ways than one. There was of course the usual culture shock one experiences when going on trips like these.

ATHENS - Thank you for your time, energy, blessings, and financial support in helping sending our team to Greece this summer. The team consisted of 11 members: five from Calgary (Eva, Matthew and Kimberly, Dan and Connie), two from South Carolina (Amy and Natalie), one from Florida (Sabina), and two friends from Toronto (Ashok and Joyce).

CANADA - In July 2015, Canadian Global Response helped start the paperwork and application for the Barbar family—Iraqi refugees living in Jordan that the McLean family visited in Amman during Christmas in 2016. The McLean’s friendship started on this trip, and we celebrate with them the arrival of their sponsorship family!

VENEZUELA - In late 2016 CGR assessed opportunities to partner in Venezuela as the country continues to experience a humanitarian crisis. Necessities such as nutritious food, hygiene supplies, and medicine are in short supply. If people do find food or supplies, they must pay 3-4 times more than the market value, which is extremely difficult.

WUZHOU—Greetings from China!

Our team arrived safely in Wuzhou after spending an evening in Hong Kong adjusting to the time zone change and getting prepared to travel the next day. After two days of travelling by plane, taxi, van, and train, we were eager to meet local seniors and senior home leadership.

HOLGUÍN - Hello Everyone, I feel blessed and grateful to have been entrusted with the leadership in CGR’s efforts in Eastern Cuba, bringing relief and assisting the people of Eastern Cuba in their battle with the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew.

HOLGUÍN - A Canadian Global Response team arrived in Cuba last week to help assess damages as the recovery phase of Hurricane Matthew takes place. With winds reaching 260 km/h (160 mph), Hurricane Matthew dissipated in the middle of October but claimed the lives of between 600-1650 people, and an estimated $14 billion dollars in damages.

FORT MCMURRAY - Canadian Global Response continues its presence in Fort McMurray, AB, even as the Alberta government has recently listed wildfires (aptly named “the Beast”) that destroyed 2,400 buildings as “being held.” The classification means the fire is not yet under control but is no longer expected to grow. Over the past month we have provided debris clean up, fridge/freezer removal, emotional support, and recovering belongings from ash via sifting. Our volunteers were also serving at seven welcome centres across the city, and can now be found handing out hampers to returnees at the airport or hotels and apartment buildings. Ashouts, fridge removal and emotional support remains part of our everyday schedule.

FORT MCMURRAY - Alberta’s provincial state of emergency continues as Fort McMurray fires double to over 161,000 hectares (Edmonton is roughly 68,000 hectares). As of Sunday afternoon, there are over 500 firefighters battling the blaze.

JORDAN - Their two little girls ages 4 and 5 don’t want toys or dolls for Christmas; they simply want to come live in Canada. The request to sponsor this family has already been approved by the Quebec government, now it remains in the hands of the Jordanian government to give the green light. The Christmas wish from the Barbar family is simple enough, “that the good Lord helps us” explained Raed and his wife Juliette.

KURDISTAN - Today was full of anticipation as we got ready for Christmas Eve. The city’s bazaar included flavourful figs, dates, exotic teas, Turkish delight and more, but importantly the gifts we sought to bring to local refugee camps and distribute in a parade. Santa Claus “Baba Noel” and our local friends assured us there would be a lot of energy and excitement!

KURDISTAN - Many of us assumed the refugee camps were tent cities in the countryside, but instead they’re located throughout the city, anywhere refugee families can live. The various government levels have been overwhelmed by the scale of refugees, with many of the 500,000 who left Mosul alone primarily moving eastward.

KURDISTAN - A couple teams of Canadians are visiting the Middle East this Christmas. Their purpose is to bring hope and joy during the holiday season to refugees and internally displaced people living or in transit in Jordan and Northern Iraq. Syrian and Iraqi refugees as well as many other minority groups such as the Yazidi have been displaced by the war that began back in 2011.