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Canadian volunteers from CMAT headed to Haiti to provide humanitarian relief.

CMAT Team departing Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport for Haiti
When: Wednesday November 2, 07:00
Where: Air Transat check-in counter

dave-and-nomad

CMAT Director Dave Johnson sending off the high-capacity water purification unit to Haiti.

MONTREAL Nov 1, 2016 – Members of Canadian Medical Assistance Teams (CMAT) will be departing early Wednesday (November 2) for Port-Au-Prince, Haiti, accompanied by a large-capacity water purification unit, and other relief supplies.

On October 4th, Hurricane Matthew violently struck Haiti and resulted in the country’s largest humanitarian emergency since the 2010 earthquake. While the immediate health impact of the disaster was managed locally, CMAT has since been collaborating with local and international agencies, helping to coordinate a response to relieve the suffering of those affected by the Hurricane, and support the population through the anticipated longer-term health consequences of the storm.

CMAT’s Response Team consists of 3 members from across Canada:

  • Martin Metz, Vancouver, BC
  • Kate Auger, Collingwood, ON
  • Marc Dupuis, Val Des Monts, QC

With more than a decade of international humanitarian deployment experience among them, the team will be bringing valuable expertise to the region, along with critical water purification equipment to help rebuild the country’s capacity, and address the worsening situation of water-borne illness. To date, the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs have already reported over 3,000 cases of suspected cholera.

CMAT would like to thank the the following partners who have generously assisted CMAT with this deployment:

 

Donations gratefully accepted via Canada Helps!  Click below to donate.

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Japan Earthquake and Tsunami – Six Months On….

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Our fantastic Japanese in-country volunteers!!! — L-R Rear: Yasushi Sato, Motoaki Ishii, Sosha Smith, Valerie Rzepka, L-R Front: Umi-San, Kana Kobori, and Seiko Watanabe.

Our fantastic Japanese in-country volunteers!!! — L-R Rear: Yasushi Sato, Motoaki Ishii, Sosha Smith, Valerie Rzepka, L-R Front: Umi-San, Kana Kobori, and Seiko Watanabe.

Sunday, September 11, 2011 – Six months ago, on March 11, 2011 a massive earthquake struck off the coast of northern Japan. The earthquake and tsunami that followed caused the death of at least 24,000 people and set off a nuclear crisis which was as confusing as it was frightening. Four months later, CMAT Chair Valerie Rzepka, and CMAT Volunteer Seiko Watanabe returned to Japan to retrieve CMAT equipment which will no longer be needed, and to acknowledge and thank CMAT’s Japanese in-country volunteers. Here are their impressions:

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Through generous donors, CMAT is helping to provide purified drinking water in Japan.

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A curious little guy makes a close inspection of the new equipment.

A curious little guy makes a close inspection of the new equipment.

Friday, April 1, 2011 – Kitakamicho Aikawa, Japan: Together with local authorities in Japan, CMAT team members successfully installed a Nomad water purification unit in the small fishing village.

The purchase of this portable water purification system manufactured by Noah Water Systems was made possible through the generous support of our donors, especially the Lotus Light Charity Society from Vancouver. The unit is capable of producing 25 gallons / 95 litres per minute or 36,000 gallons / 136,800 liters per day. The Nomad will satisfy the need for large volumes of safe drinking water using any fresh water source: well, lake, river, stream, and pond and even polluted floodwaters.
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CMAT providing clean drinking water for a community destroyed in the tsunami

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CMAT paramedic Martin Metz and OT Seiko Watanabe install a Nomad water purification system in the town of Aikawa Kitakamicho.

CMAT paramedic Martin Metz and OT Seiko Watanabe install a Nomad water purification system in the town of Aikawa Kitakamicho.

Tuesday, March 29, 2011 – Ishinomaki, Miyagi, Japan- The CMAT Medical Team continues to work in the communities surrounding Ishinomaki, and is slowing winding up its operations in Japan.  While visiting evacuation centres in several small villages along the coast, team members provided first aid and some primary medical care to the evacuees. Many of the patients that the team saw were elderly, and had chronic illnesses like diabetes and high blood pressure.

Meanwhile, other members of the team were awaiting delivery of the Nomad water purification unit. The purchase of this portable water purification system manufactured by Noah Water Systems was made possible through the generous support of our donors, especially the Lotus Light Charity Society from Vancouver. The unit is capable of producing 25 gallons / 95 litres per minute or 36,000 gallons / 136,800 liters per day. The Nomad will satisfy the need for large volumes of safe drinking water using any fresh water source: well, lake, river, stream, and pond and even polluted floodwaters.