The American Red Cross increases aid to flood-ravaged Pakistan

Posted on August 17, 2010 by American Red Cross Northeast Wisconsin Chapter

Financial support and relief supplies totaling $1 million sent to help flood-affected communities

A family wades through flood waters while evacuating Baseera, a village in the Muzaffargarh district of Pakistan’s Punjab province.

 

Washington, D.C., Tuesday, August 17, 2010 – As flood waters threaten to engulf new communities in the south of Pakistan, the American Red Cross is increasing its support to $1 million to help families affected by the worst flooding in that country in more than 80 years.“The extent of the devastation is massive, with the Pakistan government now estimating 20 million people are significantly affected by the floods,” says David Meltzer, senior vice president of international services for the American Red Cross. “With food supplies and crops destroyed, millions of people will need food aid, water and emergency relief for months to come.”

Thousands of Pakistan Red Crescent volunteers continue to distribute relief items, reaching approximately 350,000 people since the flooding started. And all of their available mobile emergency units are out in flood-affected communities and have now provided medical care to more than 30,000 people across the country.

The global Red Cross and Red Crescent network estimates that, in the near term, at least 6 million people will need emergency humanitarian assistance, in the form of safe water, tents and shelter materials, and medical help.

According to the United Nations, waterborne diseases continue to pose a risk to millions of people, especially children, living in the flood-affected areas. Contaminated water and the lack of medication are causing some of the main flood-related illnesses, such as respiratory tract infections and diarrhea, to be potentially deadly. Snake bites have also become a major medical issue.

In the northwest of the country, where the flash floods first struck, the waters have receded in many places and the devastation resembles an earthquake more than a flood, with bridges collapsed and houses destroyed. In the south, much of the affected area is still underwater, but hundreds of villages and countless thousands of acres of standing crops are still submerged, and the waters may not recede fully for more than a year.

Until now the American Red Cross had already pledged $250,000 for Pakistan relief – $150,000 worth of tarps, blankets and kitchen items as well as $100,000 in immediate financial support.

The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies nearly half of the nation’s blood; teaches lifesaving skills; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a charitable organization — not a government agency — and depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, please visit www.redcross.org or join our blog at http://blog.redcross.org.

 

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Services to Armed Forces: In war zones even heroes need consoling

Posted on August 17, 2010 by American Red Cross Northeast Wisconsin Chapter

by Sarah Forgany / KENS 5 San Antonio: Click here for link to KENS website. 

SAN ANTONIO — Imagine being isolated 7,000 miles away from family, friends, everything you’ve grown up to know your entire life. It’s not far fetched. It’s the life thousands of young American men and women are living now, to protect us, to fight for our freedom.

The men and women fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan are American heroes, but even heroes need consoling at times.

In a war zone – that sense of comfort is often given by a support team of Red Cross volunteers like Natalie Holbrook.
 
“I have lived nearly 12 years overseas, from 1998 – 2010 in Japan, England, Germany and now Kuwait,” Holbrook said.

Holbrook spent four months in Kuwait this year before returning home to San Antonio. She has had a passion for helping people, and she was able to do just that. Her job in the Middle Eastern country was to pass emergency communication messages between soldiers, contractors and their families.  

“Twenty-four hours a day, 365 days a year, the Red Cross sends emergency communications to deployed service members on behalf of their family,” Holbrook said. “They relay urgent messages.

Holbrook is a paid staff member of the services to Armed Forces department of the American Red Cross.

The job is not easy. She recalls working for months without a day off, in harsh conditions, hot weather, sandstorms, small rooms and shared showers.

“One has to be willing to learn the ins and outs of working within a structured military environment as well,” she said. “We sometimes deal with emotionally distraught service members worried about their loved ones. Our job is to listen and let them vent.”

One moment stands out in her mind. Holbrook says she will never forget the young sailor who had just learned the news of his grandfather’s death.
 
“I sat him down and started a case,” she recalled. “The next day he was on a plane headed back to Wisconsin. He was able to go on emergency leave to attend the funeral. When he returned he said he was very grateful to us for our small part in helping him get home. I still keep in touch with him.”

The Kuwait office is very significant in this respect, Holbrook said. It is the gateway country from which all service members enter theater. Red Cross volunteers are able to track the exact whereabouts of an individual and unit during transit.

But when she’s not dealing with emergencies, Holbrook says they set up morale events such as fun runs, and movie days. They ran the HIDE AWAY OASIS, a canteen service shop that carried books, coffee, snacks, two flat-screen televisions, DVDs, and lending library games.

“We also hand out donated items such as razors, shaving cream, cookies, games, all donated by the American public,” Holbrook said.
 
The Red Cross provides services to more than 2.5 million active duty military personnel, the National Guard and Reserves and their families.

“No person would be able to perform a job or properly function through their day knowing their families are in distress,” she added.

For Holbrook, the experience is emotionally rewarding, because even the strongest of men and women need comforting, Holbrook said. They need to know their families are safe.

“We support the service members and other DOD affiliates because they are humans beings and not because of the uniform they wear or the job they do,” Holbrook said.

While not on the job, Holbrook is a Red Cross health and safety instructor and volunteer at the San Antonio chapter. Soon she says she’ll be heading to Germany to back-fill for another staff member going to Iraq.

Many may consider Holbrook a hero herself. She’s helped hundreds of our uniformed men and women get through the toughest of times, in a land far far away from home.

But Holbrook admits she’s the one that walked out of this experience with emotional rewards, and making amazing friends.

The best part about it all?

“Honestly, I can’t say,” she said. “It was all great.”

www.SAredcross.org or call 224-5151 and ask for services to the Armed Forces.

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American Red Cross Lakeland Chapter Responds to Three Incidents in the Past Four Days

Posted on August 17, 2010 by American Red Cross Northeast Wisconsin Chapter

The American Red Cross Lakeland Chapter Disaster Team has been has been called out three times in the last four days.

Friday, August 13, four disaster volunteers assisted 100 search and rescue workers in Menominee, MI. We provided food and beverages to keep the workers safe in the hot and humid conditions.

Sunday, August 15, Red Cross responded to a house fire in the city of Oconto. The fire displaced five adults and one teenager.

Two American Red Cross Disaster Volunteers assisted the clients based upon their immediate emergency need with lodging, monetary assistance for clothing and food. We also provided comfort kits (which include soap, shampoo, toothbrush, toothpaste, washcloth, comb, facial tissue, deodorant, razors, shaving cream and lotion) and homemade quilts.  

Monday, August 16, three disaster volunteers responded to a duplex fire on the east side of Green Bay around 10:30am.  The fire displaced seven adults and seven children.

Based on the clients immediate emergency need we provided them with monetary assistance for groceries and storage containers. We also provided comfort kits and homemade quilts. The families are staying with relatives.

“These responses again emphasize the importance and need for financial support year round to help people in need,” said Steve Maricque, Executive Director, American Red Cross Lakeland Chapter.  “During the summer months we typically see a downturn in giving.  Financial help now is critical to our being able to deliver services.”   

Red Cross disaster assistance is free and is made possible by community donations. You can help individuals of this disaster and others by making a financial gift to the American Red Cross Lakeland Chapter’s local disaster relief fund. For information call the Lakeland Chapter at 920-468-8535 or visit www.arclakeland.org.

 About the American Red Cross:

The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies nearly half of the nation’s blood; teaches lifesaving skills; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a charitable organization — not a government agency — and depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, please visit www.redcross.org or join our blog at http://blog.redcross.org.

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Kitchen fire causes $20,000 in damage to Green Bay duplex; Red Cross Responds

Posted on August 17, 2010 by American Red Cross Northeast Wisconsin Chapter

By Charles Davis • cedavis@greenbaypressgazette.com • August 17, 2010

Cooking oil left on the stove may have led to a kitchen fire Monday at a duplex on the Green Bay’s east side. 

Crews arrived just before 10 a.m. to smoke coming from the single-story duplex at 1712 Amy St., said Battalion Chief Ed Jarosz of the Green Bay Fire Department.

Investigators aren’t sure of the exact cause of the blaze, but do not suspect foul play, said Capt. Chris Heil of the city fire marshal’s office. A ruling on the cause likely will be announced today, Heil said.

The fire was extinguished within 15 minutes of firefighters’ arrival and appeared to be contained to the kitchen, Jarosz said. No one was injured, but the fire displaced 13 people.

The Lakeland Chapter of the American Red Cross provided the residents with money for groceries and other essentials, spokeswoman Jody Weyers said. She said the displaced residents all found housing with relatives.

Neither unit in the duplex had working smoke detectors or carbon monoxide detectors.

“If this had happened in the middle of the night, this could have been a lot worse because of the (lack of) smoke detectors,” Jarosz said.

A family member said cooking oil was left on the stove while some members were asleep.

The property is owned by John and Debra Buckmaster of Oneida and valued at $475,000, according to Brown County land records. The Green Bay Fire Department reported that the fire did at least $20,000 in damage.

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