Category Archives: Disaster Relief

“We’re all still alive”

Posted on May 2, 2011 by Laura Reinhardt in Disaster Relief

A child's stuffed animal amidst the wreckage in Birmingham, Alabama. © 2011 Laura Reinhardt/WV

Editor’s note: Last night, I received the following email from Laura Reinhardt, who is in Alabama: The man sitting next me on the plane looked out the window as we approached Birmingham, Alabama. He pointed out the path of destruction left by the April 27 tornadoes. “That’s the spookiest thing I ever saw,” he said. “It’s like someone took a giant vacuum cleaner to the earth.” Seeing it from the air and being kind of awed by nature’s power is one thing, but getting on the ground and seeing tin roofs curled up like ribbon, walls ripped away to reveal the inside of someone’s life, and then meeting people like 10-year-old Morgan Adams makes it all much more personal. Morgan...

When disaster strikes home

Posted on April 29, 2011 by Nathan Looney, World Vision U.S. web team in Disaster Relief

Robbie Thomas wipes her eyes as she recalls her experiences in the Rosedale Courts housing complex, in the aftermath of deadly tornados in Tuscaloosa, Alabama April 29, 2011. | REUTERS/Lee Celano

Editor’s note: World Vision’s Nathan Looney reports from his hometown of Birmingham, Alabama, that while neighborhoods in his immediate area were spared, towns just 30 minutes north and south have been completely devastated. Nathan, who happened to be visiting his family for the Easter holiday, will connect with our incoming assessment team tomorrow as they jumpstart World Vision’s response. I’ve seen countless pictures of destruction and hundreds of video clips of unimaginable devastation. In my few years at World Vision, I’ve sat in meetings sifting through images and articles, looking for the ones that best tell the story. At times, those pictures and stories ended up just being a tool to me, a means to educate our donors, a device...

World Vision responds to storms and tornadoes in American South

Posted on April 28, 2011 by Mindy Mizell in Disaster Relief

Residents inspect the aftermath of overnight tornadoes that left this part of Pratt City, a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama, in ruins April 28, 2011. Devastating storms and tornadoes raked though the U.S. South, killing at least 185 people as they ripped houses to rubble, flipped cars and uprooted trees and power lines, officials said on Thursday. (REUTERS/Marvin Gentry)

Editor’s note: At World Vision’s office in New York, Mindy Mizell is coordinating media efforts concerning our response to the deadly storms and tornadoes in the American South. URGENT: World Vision is responding to the devastation left by deadly storms in Alabama, Oklahoma, North Carolina, and Mississippi, as well as the levee break in Missouri. We are working with local partners to distribute first aid kits, hygiene supplies, and other essential products to some of the hardest-hit communities. An assessment team is also preparing to survey the damage in Alabama and look for ways to partner with churches and other local organizations to help the most vulnerable children and families....

A long road ahead for Japan

Posted on April 12, 2011 by Peter Warski in Disaster Relief

WV Japan staff en eoute to Sendai (WV/2011)

Some humanitarian disasters occupy a few days worth of headlines — if that — and then quickly become a distant memory, if they’re remembered at all. The Japan quake and tsunami, in my opinion, has been the opposite. On March 11, we were instantly exposed to a flood of media coverage on the devastation in northeast Japan and the gravity of the nuclear crisis created by the crippled power plant. That coverage didn’t subside much in the weeks to follow. On some level, the headlines and news clips about this historic natural disaster seem to have rendered the crisis more of an ongoing suspense film than a real-life story about human suffering. One month after the disaster, I must remember...

Child-Friendly Space opens in Japan

Posted on April 4, 2011 by Guest blogger in Disaster Relief

World Vision's Maikba Yamano leads children's activities at the CFS. (Itoh Kei/WV/2011)

Editor’s note: In the aftermath of tragedy and disaster, World Vision uses Child-Friendly Spaces (CFS) to care for children by providing them with a safe place to learn, play and emotionally recover from the trauma they’ve faced. (For more on how we use CFS, read Freedom of imagination) The following was shared with us by Nanako Otsuki, communications officer with World Vision Japan. Zenin syugo, meaning “everyone gathering together”, is the name children in Tome City have come up with for their new playing ground, a World Vision CFS. The name fits perfectly for its purpose, providing children with a venue to come together and share their experiences as they begin the road to recovery. All the children come from...