Emergency response report february 2013 by Scott Beech

February 2013

Emergency Assistance for Children and Families Your support in action around the world A SPECIAL REPORT ON ACTIVITIES FROM APRIL 2012 TO JANUARY 2013

YOUR SUPPORT IN ACTION AROUND THE WORLD

For weeks, a park bench was home for this family, which fled to Lebanon to escape violent conflict in Syria. With your support, World Vision is providing hygiene kits, blankets, stoves, and food vouchers for families arriving from Syria and running Childâ&#x20AC;&#x2018;Friendly Spaces to help children cope with psychological trauma caused by their experiences.

Table of Contents 1

Help is at Hand

Your Support in Action Superstorm Sandy in the United States West Africa Food Crisis Angola Food Crisis Violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo Syrian Refugee Response in Lebanon

With Deep Appreciation

ÂŠ 2012 Wor ld V ision

Our vision for every child, life in all its fullness. Our prayer for every heart, the will to make it so.

YOUR SUPPORT IN ACTION AROUND THE WORLD

Disasters and humanitarian emergencies can strike at any time, in any place. When they do, children suffer greatly. World Vision stands ready to protect children and families by delivering crucial assistance quickly and effectively. Our goal always is to save lives and alleviate suffering and hardship, while also protecting the rights and dignity of individuals affected by crisis. Our 45,000 staff in nearly 100 countries are committed to helping communities recover and rebuild. We are able to help people in times of suffering because donors such as you care deeply for our brothers and sisters around the world. On behalf of literally millions of people working to rebuild their lives in the wake of disaster, thank you for your generosity.

Help is at Hand World Vision is recognized as a leader in responding to rapid-onset emergencies and complex humanitarian emergencies—whether tornadoes, conflicts, or floods. Humanitarian and Emergency Assistance (HEA) is an integral aspect of our work around the globe. Our presence in local communities enables us to detect the warning signs of slow-onset emergencies, such as drought and hunger, and determine the appropriate response. © 2012 Wor ld V ision

We focus on emergency preparedness at the global, regional, national, and community level. We have HEA regional offices for Africa, Asia Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Middle East and Eastern Europe. We also have a team that responds to disasters in the United States. A World Vision employee unloads flood clean-up kits at a distribution site in Coney Island, New York—an area hit hard by Superstorm Sandy.

To respond quickly and efficiently worldwide, we developed our Global Pre‑Positioning and Resource Network, which provides emergency assistance such as relief supplies, equipment, and technical services for disaster responses. Nine warehouses are located strategically throughout the world—in Australia, Germany, Ghana, Italy, Kenya, Malaysia, Panama, United Arab Emirates, and the U.S.—to ensure rapid deployment. External partners hold relief supplies for World Vision as well. These supplies (anything from tarps, blankets, and trucks to kitchen sets and satellite phones) can be flown to where they are needed within 48 to 72 hours of a disaster declaration. Another tool World Vision developed to speed effective response to disasters is our Global Rapid Response Team. This 48-member team consists of experts who are ready to deploy at a moment’s notice to a disaster anywhere in the world. The team can be on the ground within 72 hours, assessing needs, and moving resources from the Global Pre-Positioning and Resource Network to where they are most needed. The Global Rapid Response Team has experts in assessment, water and sanitation, child protection, safety and security, food security, and other specialties vital during a disaster response. World Vision staff members in each national office, as well as at the regional and local level, also are trained to respond to emergencies. Each country has its own supply of emergency response tools and supplies and can respond immediately when necessary.

YOUR SUPPORT IN ACTION AROUND THE WORLD

Your Support in Action We are grateful for your contribution to emergency aid, which is bringing help and hope to many. In fiscal year 2012 (October 2011 through September 2012), World Vision’s global partnership responded to 87 humanitarian emergencies, including the drought and hunger crisis in West Africa, severe flooding in the Philippines, and Superstorm Sandy in the United States. With support from you and other compassionate donors, we assisted more than 10 million disaster survivors, refugees, and internally displaced people worldwide. This report highlights some of the achievements donors like you helped make possible in the United States, West Africa, Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Lebanon.

Superstorm Sandy in the United States

Superstorm Sandy slammed into the U.S. East Coast on the night of October 29, 2012, battering everything in its path with torrential rains, 80 mph winds, and record-breaking storm surges. The fifth largest storm in U.S. history, Sandy claimed 131 lives and caused $63 billion in estimated damages spanning six states. Damage was most severe in New Jersey and New York. The storm also knocked out power to over 8.5 million customers across 18 states.

In the days following Superstorm Sandy, a cold front moved into several of the impacted areas, bringing frigid temperatures, strong winds, and snow. World Vision provided blankets to help families stay warm. Carolina and William Jones and their two children were among those who received blankets. “No heat, no power. There’s nothing. It’s dreadful.” said Carolina. She was especially thankful for the blankets. “They make you feel warm especially at the nighttime because it’s so cold.”

World Vision’s recently opened distribution center in the South Bronx was significantly damaged during the storm, and hundreds of relief supplies were destroyed. To continue serving families, World Vision set up a temporary relief center in another warehouse in the Bronx. Relief supplies from World Vision’s national response center in North Texas and other sites were distributed through the temporary relief center. Today, we continue to meet urgent needs among survivors in New York, New Jersey, West Virginia, and Kentucky, and plan for the long road ahead. There is much work to be done. We are partnering with 47 churches and community groups that are committed to reaching those most in need. In addition, some 289 volunteers have served more than 1,000 hours. Your support has helped World Vision respond to Superstorm Sandy through activities such as these: • Distributed nearly 800 pallets of disaster relief supplies to 40,000 individuals, including 23,097 children. Products included flood clean‑up kits, water, hygiene kits, food, blankets, diapers, and toys. • Deployed a mobile Teacher Resource Center, which has so far provided school supplies and books to 89 teachers and 932 students. Distributions will continue with shoes and other items. • Collaborated with construction partners to identify 50 homes that could be rebuilt and contributed materials such as insulation, sinks, and shingles.

YOUR SUPPORT IN ACTION AROUND THE WORLD

West Africa Food Crisis Widespread drought and failed crops in West Africa’s Sahel region put nearly 19 million people at risk of hunger in late 2011 and 2012. The food crisis in Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, and Senegal was compounded by violence in Mali and Nigeria. Traditionally, men from the region can find work in Nigeria and send money home, but a series of bombings and killings by an armed group there prompted the government to seal its borders, cutting off the lifeline to many in neighboring countries. At the same time, fighting in northern Mali forced tens of thousands of Malians to flee to Mauritania, Niger, and Burkina Faso, straining the resources of communities already suffering from hunger. The onset of rains and the recent harvest season in West Africa has offered some relief. However, food prices remain high. Much more needs to be done to ensure that people in the Sahel region have sufficient food in the long term. Your support helped World Vision respond to the hunger crisis through activities such as these:

• Distributed food to 33,250 people and supplied supplemental feeding programs for 196,564 women and children in Niger • Involved 2,640 households in Mali in cash-for-work programs, which provide aid with dignity by allowing people to earn money to buy food • Distributed ready-to-use therapeutic foods such as Plumpy’nut® to malnourished children in Mali Falitene Traore, a mother of six in the Kolokani district of Mali, waits patiently in line to receive assistance through World Vision’s cash transfer program. The approximately $70 she receives will allow her to buy enough millet to feed her family for two months.

• Distributed food vouchers to 5,463 households and provided 292.3 metric tons of food in Mauritania

The future is uncertain, dependent on the rains and the coming harvest. But Falitene is focused on today. “They said that World Vision is going to help us,” she said. “I am grateful that I have enough money to buy food for my family.”

• Provided therapeutic foods for 4,420 malnourished children under 5 and 1,364 women in Senegal who were pregnant or breastfeeding

• Provided medical care and therapeutic foods to 319 malnourished children under 5 in Mauritania, and provided supplemental foods to 1,126 older children who suffered from malnutrition • Provided 1,441 metric tons of food to 5,200 households in Senegal

• Distributed therapeutic foods to 1,076 malnourished children in Chad and distributed 1.9 metric tons of food to women who were pregnant or breastfeeding

Angola Food Crisis In 2011 and 2012, Angola’s worst drought in more than 30 years resulted in massive crop failure, driving food prices 80 percent above normal and affecting 1.8 million people in seven provinces. An estimated 200,000 people are in danger of starvation and in need of clean water. There is also great need for improved, drought-tolerant seed varieties to replenish the seed supply and help protect against future crop loss. World Vision has a long-term presence in the central highlands of Angola and is also responding in the northern province of Zaire. All provinces in the area are severely affected by critical levels of food insecurity and child malnutrition. Nutritional assessments carried out by UNICEF in May 2012 revealed that 19 percent of children under 5 in Huambo province, World Vision’s main operational area, were acutely malnourished.

YOUR SUPPORT IN ACTION AROUND THE WORLD

Emergency response activities in Angola are under way. As of December 2012: • World Vision is working with UNICEF and the local Ministry of Health to identify and treat severely malnourished children, help ensure that there is a steady supply of therapeutic foods at nutrition centers, and help the provincial authorities open more supplemental feeding centers. • Three of World Vision’s area development programs have mobilized communities to assess and respond to the child malnutrition and water crises. • Agriculture, nutrition, and market assessments have been carried out.

Planned activities for 2013 include: • Responding to the needs of 270,000 malnourished children and their families and establishing community-based nutrition programs Therapeutic feeding helped 18-month-old Paulina recover from severe malnutrition. “I am very much relieved to see my baby is now happy and playing,” said her mother. “A month ago she was very sick and very thin.” World Vision is working with UNICEF and the government of Angola to help ensure that nutrition centers have adequate supplies of therapeutic foods.

• Providing seeds of improved corn and bean varieties along with technical training for 20,000 families and promoting farming methods that improve resilience to natural disasters such as drought • Distributing vegetable seeds to 40,000 women to help them start gardens for nutritious food and a source of income • Drilling low-cost, hand‑drilled wells

Violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo The Democratic Republic of Congo has been plagued by one humanitarian crisis after another for the past 20 years, most caused by widespread conflict involving multiple armed groups. In April 2012, violence erupted again when hundreds of soldiers deserted the Congolese army and re-formed a rebel group that was previously disbanded under the terms of a peace agreement. Heavy fighting culminated in the rebels seizing Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, in November 2012. The rebels officially retreated from Goma in December 2012, but the situation remains dire.

The conflict displaced approximately 140,000 people in Goma and the surrounding area, which already had nearly 1.7 million internally displaced persons. These people are living in extremely difficult conditions in camps, where they face hunger and poor sanitation and are vulnerable to rape and other protection incidents. According to UNICEF, 70,000 children have been affected by the recent conflict. Your gift is helping alleviate suffering and meet the basic needs of internally displaced people, returnees, and host families. Relief activities in the Democratic Republic of Congo include: • Distributed food to more than 302,000 people World Vision distributed food to more than 302,000 people displaced by recent conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo, most of whom live in makeshift shelters such as the ones pictured above at Mugunga camp, located a few miles outside Goma.

• Distributed relief items such as water jugs and mosquito nets to 1,500 families • Equipped six health facilities with medical kits and examination tables • Operated Child-Friendly Spaces in six camps to help more than 13,750 children cope with distress • Helped 260 former child soldiers reintegrate into society, providing education, healthcare, and counseling and helping them start economic activities

Syrian Refugee Response in Lebanon

YOUR SUPPORT IN ACTION AROUND THE WORLD

Two years of armed conflict in Syria has forced hundreds of thousands of people to seek refuge in neighboring countries. Of these, Lebanon shelters the most Syrian refugees—more than 277,000, according to the United Nations.

There are no official refugee camps in Lebanon. Many displaced people are staying with host families or renting apartments. However, some have no option but to take shelter in abandoned buildings and makeshift tents. These families lack basic necessities to help them survive Lebanon’s cold winter. Children are struggling to adjust to their new environment and cope with the effects of violence. Many are not attending school. World Vision’s response in Lebanon includes the following activities: • Provided regular distributions of hygiene supplies and food vouchers to 40,000 displaced Syrians Child-Friendly Spaces help children cope with distress and provide an opportunity to play and socialize in a safe environment.

• Distributed stoves and fuel vouchers to 1,250 families living without heat • Offered daily remedial classes for 300 children and an accelerated learning program to help 120 out-of-school children prepare for re‑enrollment when possible • Operated Child‑Friendly Spaces to provide children with safe places to play and help address their emotional needs

With Deep Appreciation Thank you for reaching out to help families who are hurting. We hope the stories and achievements in this report have touched your heart, just as your generosity has touched the lives of children around the world. Please join us in prayer for continued recovery and renewed hope among children and families experiencing crisis. Please contact your World Vision representative with questions or for more information about the impact of your giving.

P.O. Box 9716 Federal Way, WA 98063-9716 www.worldvision.org/MyImpact

“For He will deliver the needy who cry out, the afflicted who have no one to help.” —Psalm 72:12 (NIV)

World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children, families, and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice. Motivated by our faith in Jesus Christ, we serve alongside the poor and oppressed as a demonstration of God’s unconditional love for all people. World Vision serves all people, regardless of religion, race, ethnicity, or gender.