Category Archives: Disaster Relief

Tipping points: First famine of the 21st century in Somalia, East Africa

Posted on July 21, 2011 by Guest blogger in Disaster Relief

Editor’s note: Following yesterday’s UN declaration of famine in two regions of southern Somalia, Tristan Clements, country program manager with World Vision’s humanitarian emergency affairs team in Australia, comments on the complexities of drought and hunger, and their impact on vulnerable communities in East Africa. We hear the word “famine” a lot, particularly in reference to Africa and food-related problems. In fact, the word is often overused. Famine is a very specific event — a really, really terrible one — in which we see lots of people of all ages dying as a result of food shortages. For the United Nations, the word has a technical definition of two or more people out of 10,000 dying each day, and acute...

The 5 W’s on drought and hunger in East Africa

Posted on July 16, 2011 by Peter Warski in Disaster Relief

The number of people affected by devastating drought and hunger in East Africa, also known as the Horn of Africa, has catapulted from 7 million in March to nearly 13 million now. Vulnerable children and families are subject to extreme and potentially deadly malnutrition as livestock perish, vital crops are destroyed, and diseases increase. Informed by these disturbing statistics — as well as reports from our field offices, international media, partner agencies, and the World Vision international partnership emergency response team — we’ve compiled the following information, which answers the who, what, when, where, and why of the drought and food crisis in East Africa. Expect more posts to come concerning this crisis. WHO is affected? An estimated 13 million...

Prayers for Japan from around the world

Posted on June 10, 2011 by World Vision field communicators in Child Sponsorship, Disaster Relief

Sponsored children in Bangladesh express love for their sponsors in Japan. ©2011 World Vision

Three months ago on Saturday, a deadly earthquake and ensuing tsunami in Japan killed more than 14,700 people, leaving the country’s northeastern coastline devastated. Our colleagues in Japan have spent the weeks and months following the disaster organizing and implementing a full response plan, supported by the World Vision global partnership. As part of an international initiative to encourage quake survivors and those involved in relief efforts, children around the world who are supported by World Vision sponsors in Japan send their love and prayers. Children and sponsors in Japan’s tsunami zone have since received drawings, cards, and origami art messages from sponsored children in El Salvador, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Mongolia, Kenya, China, and Ethiopia. This post is a collection...

The hope beyond what I saw in Sudan

Posted on June 8, 2011 by Collins Kaumba in Disaster Relief, Stories

At a health clinic in Sudan, Heawa with her young sister Maka wait to be attended to. ©2010 Collins Kaumba/World Vision

Editor’s note: Three weeks ago, we asked Collins, a World Vision communicator in Zambia, to write about his recent experience in Sudan, supporting World Vision’s office there. His reply: “My experience in Sudan makes me feel as though I should write a book, because it is something I have never experienced in my life before. You have really asked for the blog at the right time.” As South Sudan prepares to celebrate its independence as Africa’s newest country on July 9, we continue to to offer assistance to this conflict-weary region. Indelible memories of the suffering I saw in Darfur have followed me since the day I left Sudan for Zambia. My mind and heart are still attached to the...

Blogger interview with World Vision on tornado response

Posted on June 1, 2011 by Guest blogger in Disaster Relief

Family photos amidst the rubble in Joplin, Missouri. ©2011 Laura Reinhardt/World Vision

Editor’s note: On Tuesday evening, World Vision blogger Dan King conducted a Skype interview with Romanita Hairston, World Vision’s vice president of U.S. programs, about how World Vision plans to help those affected by tornadoes in the U.S. Heartland, and her recent experience in the tornado zone in Joplin, Missouri. I was sitting in the delivery room with my wife early on the morning of April 28, and we turned on the TV to pass a little time. Flipping over to the news, we saw video of a mile-wide tornado ripping through Alabama. It was part of what’s been termed the “2011 Super Outbreak.” As we were about to welcome a new life into the world, our hearts broke for...