Blog: Disaster Relief

April 25th, 2015 was a day that many Nepali people will not forget. The earth shook…and shook and shook and they wondered, “Is this the end?”

No other relief organization has reached this area yet.

Desperately needing tarps for shelter, their homes collapsed from the violent shaking, families gather hopelessly in destroyed villages.

“Everyone thought this is the last day of their life. Not only one time, but hundreds of times the quake hit and the earth shook,” shares Kiran Karki, National Leader of Nepal in his official report of the event. Not only has Kiran and his team been tending to their families, but their neighbors, as well.

While our staff is safe, there are many thousands who were not. Seven days after the earthquake hit, nearly 6,000 people were found dead and about twice that number were injured. Various news sources estimate once all the rubble is cleared, lives lost will total much higher.

“My children are traumatized by the sight of seeing many of our neighbors killed in the earthquake. Hundreds of our neighbors are camped out in our front yard.”

These are the words of our National Leader, Kiran as we talked on the phone a few minutes ago.

I am sure you are aware the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that shook Nepal two days ago has been followed by over 100 after shocks. In Kathmandu, our leader reports there is no one in the hospitals because they are sleeping in the open air. The roads are blocked; food and water are becoming very rare.

After a magnitude 7.8 earthquake hit Nepal on April 25th, many are in desperate need of relief. We have been in contact with our local staff and are glad to report they are safe.

While news reports show that relief is being brought to some areas affected by the disaster, currently access to rural villages is extremely difficult due to road damage. We are assessing the situation in order to bring aid to these harder to reach victims who have lost so much.

Your gift will help the suffering so we can provide relief!

A spotlight has been shone on the Yazidis, a religious minority from the mountains of Northern Iraq. Targets of violent acts with other religious and ethnic minorities, headlines began reporting the woes of this particular group in late February 2015.

In some ways, natural disasters are like taxes: Just as inevitable, but easier not to think about until they’re directly on the horizon. But while tax season may prove painful for a while, the aftermath of typhoons, famine, contagion and political conflicts can be devastating and even permanent—and they occur daily around the world.

Iraqi Refugee Families in Jordan

As we sat on the mats lining the walls of the bedroom, *Leina attempted to tell us her story. There was heaviness in the room and the baby was restless in his mother's arms, interrupting her as she tried to recount her tragic past. The older children came home from school and sat quietly next to Leina. They smiled when we gave them candy.

Floods and mudslides, blustering snowstorms, earthquakes and fires: natural disasters devastated hundreds of thousands worldwide in 2014. Add in other humanitarian crises like the Ebola outbreak or the war in the Middle East, and the victim count rises to the millions. There’s no reason to think this year will be any different.