FEED THE HUNGRY Responds
August 2008
Burundi, AFRICA...
A silent tsunami respects no borders
"Invisible" Burundi suffers deeply in the "silent tsunami"
of
record food prices
Burundi: 27,830 square kilometers
Population 8,691,005
Life Expectancy 51.71 years
Risk of major infectious disease "very high"
Capital: Bujumbura
Gross domestic product per capita $119
Source: U.S. State Department
14-5-08 Reports from the
Field Myanmar Disaster Relief Update
Summary of Stefan's initial impressions on arrival and day one activties
in Yangon - click
here.
14-5-08 Myanmar Disaster
Relief Update - Stefan Radelich on the ground
FTH are pleased to confirm that International Director, Stefan Radelich
arrived in Yangon early yesterday morning. Stefan has been able to
meet up with one of the largest independent churches in Myanmar which
is acting as a relief centre for survivors of the catastrophe.
The church had made three large distributions of food
to about 2000 families with the scant resources of the church before
the disaster. Clean drinking water, food and shelter remain the most
important priorities.
When asked whether there is still a need for emergency
funding - Stefan's reply was adamant,
"Absolutely. No question."
We are firming up supply routes for emergency cash,
cross border bulk shipments. The greatest problem Ps. Mung is facing
now - is an empty bank account. There are local supply points where
supplies can be purchased at a reasonable about - but nobody accepts
an IOU in Myanmar
Please send your best gift via an online donation
today.
12-5-08 Myanmar Disaster Relief Update - Enroute
The latest OCHA reports state the official death toll now is 22,997,
with 42,119 missing and 1,430 injured, although unofficial figures
are considerably higher.
Based on the original Government estimate of 975,858
persons affected three days after the disaster in the eight most seriously
hit townships, the UN now estimates that at least 1,500,000 people
are severely affected.
In the midst of this confusion and instability, FTH
Director Stefan Radelich is enroute to Myanmar.
12-5-08 Myanmar Disaster Relief Update - Stefan Radelich
"The reports from our contacts on the ground describing the devastation
are reminiscent the Tsunami in 2005 -- the scope and depth of the
destruction is beyond what words or pictures can convey.
Millions are now homeless, there is no power, no running
water and people are looting stores to survive. Two of the churches
we know have generators to provide power, and were willing to be set
up as relief centers, but they had no supplies to help the overwhelming
number of survivors. Feed The Hungry is purchasing food, blankets,
plastic sheeting, and other first-response supplies in Yangon to meet
the need.
Buying food, blankets, tarps and other relief items
in Yangon will be costly but it must be done. At times like this,
cost is not an option. We have to do whatever it takes to help save
lives and that means buying supplies in country for the time being.
Our plan is to transport relief supplies from Thailand
to the FTH relief centers as soon as possible which will give us more
buying power and insulate us from opportunistic suppliers in the affected
area."
Stefan Radelich
FTH International Director
12-5-08 Myanmar Disaster Relief update - Not enough!
According to the news reports, the Burmese State Television stations
have revised upward the official death toll to 28,458, while 33,416
were still missing after the cyclone.
The article leads with the headline that quantity of
aid reaching Burmese survivors is 'nowhere near enough".
8-5-08 Myanmar Disaster Relief Update - Anything to Check-in?
FTH representative Stefan Radelich is booked to fly to Myanmar despite
a lack of confirmation about the visa issue. Stefan will physically
bring two water purification machines to assist.
The self-contained electro-mechanical water filtration and purification
system which can produce over 225 liters gallons of pure drinking
water per hour that is 99.999% free of bacterial, viral, or chemical
pathogens. The system has been designed to remove sediment, bacteria
and viruses from untreated water sources such as rivers, streams,
lakes, ponds, springs, reservoirs, and wells.
8-5-08 Myanmar Disaster
Relief Update - Travel Visas
Myanmar Government continues to delay the granting of temporary entry
visas for all relief workers - greatly hindering the rescue efforts.
FTH Logistics director Bob Boucek continues to lobby the Myanmar Embassy
from Washington DC.
This is a continued, and urgent prayer request for a
breakthrough in areas of travel visas, and customs to allow relief
aid into Myanmar without military interference.
7-5-08 Myanmar Disaster Relief update
FTH has been able to contact on our church partners in Yangon (Rangoon)
in Myanmar (Burma). Their 3000 member congregation and strong network
of churches throughout the country places them as one it's leading
churches groups.
Their facility is in good shape without power but with
access to a generator. They have the manpower, they have the facility
and capabilities but they have no supplies... yet.
6-5-08 Myanmar - Cyclone
Nargis
FTH is working on securing distribution through to our three church
partners in Yangoon. FTH will begin bringing disaster relief that
will help survivors of the deadliest disaster to strike South East
Asia since the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami, and ensuring that it will
not be subverted by government or military agencies.
Current estimates show over 10,000 people have lost
their life and over 3,000 people are still missing.
More details will be posted here as they come to hand.
Official U.N. statements
OCHA Situation Report No. 7 - 10th May 2008
(United Nations Office Coordinating Humanitarian Affairs)
The official death toll is now 22,997
42,119 missing
1,430 injured.
The UN now estimates that at least 1,500,000 people are severely affected.
People are deserting central cities to the countryside in desperate
search for food, water and shelter.
Heavy rainfall is forecast over the next seven days.
International flights carrying relief items increase, but access for
international workers remains unresolved.
Partial restoration of piped water supply has been restored in Yangon
city
High level consultation continues to undertake the clearance of travel
visas for humanitarian personnel.
63 teams from a range of different countries have offered their support
and are on standby in different parts of the world.
Concerns about security of trucks delivering supplies are reported
to have eased.
You can help!
We urgently need your best gift to help this nation recover from this
devastating disaster.
How you can help immediately:
--> Please pray for the survivors of this
deadly cyclone in Myanmar. Pray that relief organizations like Feed
The Hungry can quickly acquire the resources needed to provide emergency
aid to desperate children and families. Pray for favor with government
authorities for quick and unrestricted access to affected areas.
--> Donate now to help provide relief
for survivors of the cyclone. Your contribution will help Feed The Hungry
provide emergency aid to children and families devastated by this disaster.Please
Donate Now!
--> Stay informed... and let your family, friends, church, office,
school, etc. know how they can help. DAILY
NEWS
Several months ago, we received this poignant email from Joan West of
Liberty Christian Center (LCC) in California:
"Our church is doing missions work in Liberia, Africa, and currently
we send monthly support to six orphanages. All our money buys is 1/2
cup of rice per day per child and some oil for cooking. The meal is
supplemented with roots and fruits when available. This provision is
nutritionally bankrupt and we need to find a solution to the nutrition
problem."
Nicaragua/Honduras Hurricane Relief
FTH staff kept a watchful eye on the storm over Labor Day weekend and
began mobilizing aid early Tuesday morning.
(CNN) Reports -- "Rescuers searched for survivors of Hurricane
Felix on Thursday as the death toll from the powerful storm rose to
nearly 100, according to The Associated Press. Residents cope Thursday
with the damage from Hurricane Felix in La Pajara, northern Nicaragua.
Ninety-eight Nicaraguans were killed, Abelino Cox told the AP. Cox is
the spokesman for the Regional Emergency Committee in Puerto Cabezas,
Nicaragua.
Felix barreled ashore about 7:45 a.m. ET Tuesday near the Honduras-Nicaragua
border as a Category 5 storm with 160 mph winds, the most intense classification
on the Saffir-Simpson scale used by meteorologists.
Jorge Ramon Arnesto Soza, executive secretary of the National System
for the Prevention, Mitigation and Attention of Disasters, said the
death toll was likely to increase as reports came in from remote areas.
Survivors of the storm struggled Thursday. An AP photographer in an
isolated Nicaraguan village saw residents cracking coconuts to drink
the milk because they had nothing else.
In Honduras, meanwhile, in addition to the 52 Miskito Indian survivors,
an undetermined number of others aboard a boat were rescued, Echeverria
said.
About 11,000 Miskito Indians in the isolated region did not evacuate
before the storm. Honduran officials had trouble getting to the remote
region but did manage to evacuate more than 3,100, according to regional
army commander Col. Carlos Edgar Mejia of the 115th Infantry Brigade.
The United Nations' World Food Program said in a statement that the
hurricane ripped the roof off a Nicaragua hotel where staff members
were staying and destroyed a food aid warehouse.
Nearly 80 percent of Nicaraguans live below the poverty level, many
in ill-constructed homes.Felix was the second Category 5 storm to hit
the region this year, marking the first recorded instance of two such
storms making landfall in a single hurricane season."
Feed The Hungry responds
At present more than 175 tons (350,000 pounds) of needed food aid is
being shipped to in-country ministry partners along the Honduran coast
and in north-eastern Nicaragua.
"We're
thankful that significant supplies were pre-positioned in Texas, ready
for shipment", said Stefan Radelich, Director of Feed The Hungry.
"Just days before Hurricane Felix came across the Sea of Cortez,
we also received a large supply of cornmeal—a major food staple
for Central America—from our good friends at Wilson Corn Products
in Rochester, Indiana."
The first shipment of supplies will arrive on September 12th to aid
the thousands of affected residents as they return to their evacuated
towns, cities, and homelands.
To help the survivors and families in Honduras and Nicaragua
affected by Hurricane Felix,click
here
Help Arrives for Cambodian Flood Victims
FTH has just received confirmation that planned food distributions to
7,000 familes were completed throughout Kampong Thom province on Sunday,
August 12th.
Storm related floods reportedly affected 12,000 homes and 18,000 hectares
of rice fields in Kampong Thom on Tuesday, August 14th.
To help FTH's work in theCambodia outreach,click here.
Every Child Every Day! Under
the direction of Peter Sumrall, Feed The Hungry began a new initiative
in 2005, a daily committment to feed vulnerable children who have been
taken in by Christian Orphanages and Childcare Ministries around the
globe:
Children who have been orphaned by war and disease.
Children from unimaginably poverty-stricken families.
Children torn from their homes and turned into refugees by natural and
man-made tragedies.
Children who, without the care and protection of these Christian orphanages,
simply might not survive.
"This is a chance to fulfill a significant part of the vision that
God originally gave my father, 20 years ago" says Peter Sumrall;
"It's been my desire to return to the work my father began in the
60's -- helping childcare ministries and orphanages with the resources
they need to take in and reach more hurting children with God's love."
Darfur, Sudan
The Darfur region of Sudan-- you may have heard about it in the news.
It's one of the most tragic, most savage killing fields in the world.
For two decades the horror of civil war has inflicted suffering on a
staggering scale: Rape. Torture. Hundreds of thousands dead. Mllions
displaced. Today Feed The Hungry has an unprecedented opportunity to
go into this overwhelmingly Muslim land with life-saving food . . .
and to share the message of hope in Jesus Christ. In fact, every dollar
donated to this project will be multiplied seven-and-a-half times!
Mozambique Flood
Relief
On Friday, February 23, a tropical cyclone bearing 175 mph winds swept
in from the Indian Ocean, tearing into central Mozambique. As if that
weren't crushing enough -- the country was already fighting the worst
flooding in 50 years.
300,000 Mozambicans now must "survive" on dirty water, little
food, and minimal hope. Daily life has been replaced with daily fear
of water-borne diseases and starvation. 100,000 children are at risk
... living in crowded, makeshift camps that don't have enough food.
On Saturday, February 24, Feed The Hungry put relief efforts into motion
to rush aid to our ministry partners in Mozambique, starting with a
quarter-million meal packs trucked up from storage facilities in neighbouring
Swaziland... More info
--------------------
Why
Feed the Hungry?
Feed
The Hungry is a non-profit Christian mission organisation dedicated
to feeding the hungry around the world and reaching those in desperate
need. We directly oversee the entire relief process, meaning that your
gift gets to the people who need it the most.
Feeding body, soul, and spirit
Our goal is to bring Christ to a starving world. Through training programs
and evangelistic crusades with local pastors and churches, everyone
who receives aid hears the good news of the gospel!
You can be part of the answer!
Your gift can help supply food and relief items directly to the worlds
hungriest people. Bring hope to people struggling to survive! Make a
donation. Please
consider being a partner with FTH
Feed the Hungry is a global Christian relief & evangelistic ministry
challenged by God to feed the innocent people plagued by the desperate
situations created by hunger and poverty throughout the world.
Breaking
news
Find out what is happening around the globe as we help bring relief
to some of the most devastated parts of the world. See how we are helping
to make a difference with your continued help! click
here