Manitoba doctor goes to Nepal in 1st wave of earthquake relief
All relief donations made to the Canadian Red Cross before May 25 will be matched by the federal government
A Manitoba doctor is leaving for Nepal, which experienced a 7.8 magnitude earthquake that killed more than 4,000 people, with the Canadian Red Cross to deliver disaster relief.
This will be Dr. Douglas Maguire's first chance to travel abroad with the organization, which has launched a full-scale relief effort.
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"I'm a little bit exhausted already. It's been quite a whirlwind to give notice, get ready, get prepared, put your life on autopilot and hit the road," Maguire told CBC's Up to Speed on Tuesday.
This comes after extensive training that is mandated by the Red Cross before doctors can be deployed with the organization.
"I would put it almost at the same level of preparation to be a physician, not quite," Maguire said.
"What's encouraging is that you know that everybody else deployed with you has been through that same preparation."
The training includes a weeklong course in Ottawa, another week of field training on Vancouver Island and a number of online courses that prepare doctors to deal with new security issues, different equipment and the need for being resourceful.
As Maguire takes off, he heads to Nepal with the Red Cross's "continuously evolving" plan, a day behind co-ordinators that will find a location for the mobile health unit to set up.
Maguire said the team he will be travelling with is bringing 43 tons of equipment, which includes a 50-bed unit, an operating room and enough medical supplies to last three months.
The next step
Maguire said this was just the next step in a career-long interest in medicine in the developing world, having previously "dabbled in" disaster relief, but this is his first time with the Red Cross.
"I just felt working with the Canadian Red Cross offered a good opportunity to work with an organization that was steeped with resources and with experience in planning and that my time was probably best spent working with an organization of that magnitute," he said.
Maguire said his family is not particularly concerned about him going to Nepal, having been to the country before.
"I think they're all celebrating with me," he said, "for the chance to do this work."
All relief donations made to the Canadian Red Cross before May 25 will be matched by the federal government.
Find out more at RedCross.ca.