Samaritan's Purse providing shelter, food, and more to Guatemala volcano victims
Christian disaster relief and development organization rushing to help
CALGARY, June 7, 2018 /CNW/ - Samaritan's Purse is coming to the aid of Guatemalans who have fled for their lives to escape an erupting volcano.
"This is a very difficult and frightening situation as some people have lost family members and many have been displaced," said David Bock, Samaritan's Purse Canada's international disaster response manager. "We're assessing the damage, and working with partners in Guatemala to provide compassionate, coordinated assistance."
Almost 100 people have died and more than 12,000 have been evacuated since the Volcán de Fuego (Volcano of Fire) began erupting last Sunday, June 3. So far, 2,000 homes have been damaged or destroyed by mud, rocks, and volcanic ash. Entire villages near the volcano have been buried.
Samaritan's Purse, through local partners, is distributing emergency shelter, food, hygiene kits, and chemical filtration masks (due to the volcano's toxic gases). We are also feeding and providing respirators to first responders.
In recent years, Samaritan's Purse donors have enabled the non-profit Christian relief and development organization to help victims of a wide variety of natural disasters around the world, including the 2017 hurricanes in Texas, Florida, and the Caribbean; the 2015 earthquake in Nepal; Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines in 2013; the 2011 earthquake/tsunami in Japan; and the 2010 earthquake in Haiti.
In Canada, Samaritan's Purse is currently assisting flood victims in New Brunswick and British Columbia. The organization also helped after 2017 floods in British Columbia, Ontario, and Quebec; the catastrophic 2016 wildfire in Fort McMurray; and the 2013 floods in Calgary and other parts of southern Alberta.
Donations Needed: To support Samaritan's Purse's emergency disaster relief efforts in Guatemala and around the world, please visit SamaritansPurse.ca (click on "Donate") or call 1-800-663-6500.
About Samaritan's Purse Canada: Samaritan's Purse is a Christian organization that takes its name from Jesus Christ's biblical story of the Good Samaritan. Like that Good Samaritan, who found a man beaten nearly to death and helped restore him, we aid victims of war, disease, disaster, poverty, famine, and persecution. Besides disaster relief, our work includes collecting and distributing gift-filled Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes, providing safe water, teaching vocational skills, and providing agricultural supplies and training to families in the developing world. Learn more at SamaritansPurse.ca.
SOURCE Samaritan's Purse Canada
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