In emergency situations, Christian Aid works with local partner organisations to provide help in the form of relief and rehabilitation as well as seeking to reduce communities' vulnerability to future disasters.
For Christian Aid, an emergency situation occurs as a consequence of a disaster. A disaster causes damage, casualties, and human, material or environmental loss, which exceed the ability of an affected community to cope using its own resources.
It is usually the result of a hazard such as an earthquake, flood, drought, and political or military upheaval. The poorest communities are particularly vulnerable to disasters. Christian Aid provides help in the form of relief and rehabilitation but also seeks to reduce communities' vulnerability to future disasters.
The poorest communities are particularly vulnerable. Christian Aid seeks to challenge the causes of the suffering not just the symptoms. In the aftermath of a disaster Christian Aid supports partner organisations to help people rebuild their lives for the long term.
EXAMPLES:
Spring rains bring no relief in Afghanistan: food and drought crisis worsens
The spring rains have come and gone in Afghanistan, but the food crisis and drought remain acute. Almost half the country is affected and, as food stocks finally run out, thousands of families are fleeing their villages. They head for the cities, in the families are arriving every day, settling in camps outside the city. The UN has called this hope of finding food there. In the city of Herat, in western Afghanistan, 300 'the worst displacement crisis in the world today.' The current food security situation in rural areas such as the central Afghan province of Ghor remains critical. In Ghor, Christian Aid's partner organisations have been working hard to enable people to stay in their villages by operating food-for-work schemes.
Simon Richards, head of Christian Aid's field office, says: 'It's clear that the work we've been doing has made a difference. People got food, and they also felt as if the international community supported them. The seeds and fertilisers which we gave out to local farmers has given them a reason to stay, to care for the crops and see out the harvest in August. Although we were only able to distribute a small part of the overall needs of the region, this intervention mattered because there has been such a small amount of seed available generally this year. If seed stock is to be built back up to recovery levels, this has been a significant start to the process.'
Christian Aid believes we all have a role to play in ending the mass poverty. We can do this by:
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: (Every minute, five people die of AIDS related-illnesses and six more become infected. “The world can afford to Stop Aids - but we can't afford not to”)
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: Make sure your MP knows that you want to make trade work for the poor
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: Showing your support for the trade campaign every day.
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(Many of the world's poorest countries still face the burden of impossible debts. Help end the injustice by signing the online petition now)
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Christian Aids educates and raising awareness through TV adverts and its website. It has creating other websites specially designed for certain people.eg
It educates the people they help by teaching them to help themselves.
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Christian Aid
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