ChildFund International Emergency Updates

War and natural disasters create terrible situations that put already vulnerable children in grave danger. When emergency situations do arise, ChildFund International makes it easy for you to help. Please choose to donate to our ChildAlert Emergency Fund and help us be prepared for the next emergency. Enter your donation amount in the box at the bottom of the page.

Updated 01/20/09

Recovery Efforts Continue Following India Floods

In addition, millions of acres of crops were destroyed and considerable damage to the livestock and other livelihood assets were caused. The government estimates that a half million houses were partially or completely destroyed in 17 districts within these two states.
 
ChildFund communities in the Kurnool District of Andhra Pradesh and the Gangavathi, Karwar and Gulbarga districts of Karnataka were among areas affected by the floods. These communities were also exposed to piled debris and unsafe drinking water.
 
Children lost their school books, educational materials, clothes and personal items. Many children expressed fear and anxiety in the early days following the flooding. A number of schools were damaged or destroyed.

After the flooding, adolescents and women had little access to sanitary facilities or privacy in the rescue shelters. Pregnant women were without support and care at the evacuation centers.
 
In response, ChildFund India and its partners undertook immediate relief and rescue operations in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. In the first weeks, ChildFund worked with the local authorities to help move families to temporary shelters; provide clothing, bedding, water and food; and to assist with medical support for pregnant mothers and vulnerable groups. Within the five locations, ChildFund and its partners reached approximately 10,000 people.

After meeting some immediate needs, ChildFund India and its partners assisted the most vulnerable families in the communities with home repair and the purchase of essential household utensils, in addition to providing survival basics as needs continued to arise.

During the recovery phase, ChildFund opened eight child-centered spaces and started eight child well-being committees.

In the coming months, ChildFund will continue to assist families who lost crops and livestock.

ChildFund Responds to Guatemala Drought 

The lack of rainfall caused some Guatemalans to lose their entire harvest for 2009. The loss will have a year-long impact on these agricultural communities, as each family normally stores its harvest until the next rainy season. They depend on their crops to provide food for all family members.
 
This crisis is predicted to increase in gravity this month. In the coming months, affected families will not only lack their own food stores, the poorest community members will be unable to purchase food, as prices spike during a drought.

In Guatemala, the agricultural sector accounts for one-fourth of national GDP. The drought has already generated a high local unemployment rate, eliminating subsistence agriculture as a form of employment.
 
Given all of these deteriorating conditions, malnutrition is already present in children under age five in some communities. In response, ChildFund Guatemala is redirecting funds in affected communities to address this crisis. We will be providing nutritional supplementary food to the most vulnerable children in ChildFund communities. In addition, we will be working with parents on the use of kitchen gardens and orchards and providing education on nutritional health. By introducing alternative resources and skills, we aim to help children and families better cope with this crisis.
 
In the eastern areas where ChildFund works, there are no other international partners. ChildFund will use current community-based monitoring systems and will increase coordination with Guatemala’s Ministry of Health as a means of strengthening community management of malnutrition.

Children’s Nutritional Needs Become Critical as Drought Continues in East Africa

Children are most seriously affected by drought, as they are still growing and have different nutritional requirements than adults.

Faced with a total loss of livelihoods, families are finding it difficult to meet children’s nutritional needs. For example, some may have to decide whether to pay school fees or feed their children two meals a day.

ChildFund is working with communities throughout East Africa to strengthen their coping capacities in these times of hardship. Through direct consultation with communities, especially the children, we can determine exactly what the communities need to protect their youngest from the effects of this drought.

Called Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), this approach allows a community to reduce the negative impact of a predictable natural disaster. We help children and their families improve their resiliency, implementing the projects they decide are most important to the community.

In some parts of the Great Rift Valley the shortage of rainfall has lowered water tables so significantly that wells are drying up. Populations are turning to unsafe water sources. Hundreds of cases of acute watery diarrhea and skin disease are being reported in the valley.

In 2009, the rains came too late in some areas and crops died in the fields. Ironically, in other areas, heavy rains resulted in flooding and inundated crops. Flooding has caused thousands to lose their homes and set up temporary shelters with mud floors. The cold and damp floors can cause sickness for children and their families.

In addition to providing assistance in those areas, ChildFund has been working through local partners in parts of East Africa to respond to effects of the drought on children by providing food rations and clean water at schools.

In numerous communities where ChildFund works, many members are ill or have compromised immune systems due to HIV/AIDS. Communities that have relied upon agriculture as a livelihood for generations are finding that their adult population lacks the strength to work the fields to produce food for the family. This is forcing more children to work the fields as they must care for their parents and provide for their own nutrition.

Natural disasters create terrible situations that put already vulnerable children at risk. Please give to our ChildAlert Emergency Fund to help us respond to emergencies.