“Channa” was 14 when she was sent to Cambodia’s capital city of Phnom Penh to earn extra income for her mother’s medical treatments. Desperate for work, she found a job at a bar.
Channa had always refused lewd offers from male patrons, but when her family continually pressured her to earn more, she thought she had no alternative. For a full year, Channa engaged in commercial sex work and desperately wanted out. Neighbours began looking down on her. And her dreams of a happy future seemed spoiled. “I thought I was an animal, a slave,” she said. (more…)
For most of his adult life, 59-year-old Ly Sreng has struggled to accomplish even the most routine of tasks. Wounded and disabled as a soldier during Pol Pot’s regime, Ly has been forced to rely on a wheelchair for the past three decades. And not only that, he and his family struggle for survival in a poor village in Cambodia – which means their access to clean, safe drinking water has been severely limited.
Ly recently shared with Samaritan’s Purse, “It was very difficult to have access to water sources because they were far away. Besides this, the price to build a well was expensive, so I normally used my wheelchair to collect water from a pond which was 1 kilometer away from my house. (more…)
A new fear gripped thousands of homeless families in Haiti when an evening downpour drenched makeshift tent camps across the Port-au-Prince area. It’s April and the rainy season has begun.
As the rains increase, people living under old sheets and scraps of plastic face a dilemma. They can stay outside and try not to get soaked, or seek shelter in earthquake-damaged homes and buildings that are ready to collapse. Sickness brought on by exposure and the spread of disease are also major concerns. (more…)
Samaritan’s Purse has a strong network of churches, schools, and community groups in the relief catchment areas through Operation Christmas Child. Initially we were asked by the Relief Centers of Whittlesea and Diamond Valley to help supply necessary recovery equipment to families who have lost their homes and belongings.
Since then we have entered a new phase of recovery where we are working with the Salvation Army and the local communities and mobilised volunteers to help rebuild essential fencing and help get communities back on their feet.
Since the earthquake on January 12th, your support – both through your gifts and prayers – has helped Samaritan’s Purse take on an extremely active and helpful role in the disaster relief efforts in Haiti. Here is a summary of how your support is making an impact in Haiti:
Emergency items/shelter:We have been able to distribute blankets, solar flashlights, hygiene kits, shelter kits, plastic for temporary shelter, water purification kits and jerry cans to around 300 families per day.
Water: Our teams have brought in 20 large community water filters, each capable of producing 10,000 gallons of clean drinking water each day.
Medical: We have flown in $130,000 in vaccines for tetanus and other diseases from the US, and we have supplied one of the mission hospitals in Haiti with clean water, fuel and medical supplies and set up a community water filter.
Sanitation: To improve sanitation, we have installed 55 bathing facilities, eight hand-washing stations, and 363 latrines.
Rubble cleanup & employment: To date, our team has removed more than 10,000 cubic meters of rubble and cleared five miles of road, six public buildings, three local businesses, and three churches.
Through this program, we have employed 386 Haitians, 42 percent of whom are women. Samaritan’s Purse has sent 185 staff members and non-medical volunteers to Haiti. We have also sent 90 medical staff members and volunteers, and 22 chaplains from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association’s Rapid Response Team have worked with our team on the ground.
Please continue to pray for the immediate and ongoing relief efforts as well as our long-term strategy for rebuilding communities in Haiti. Pray especially for the two Australians, Trevor Adams and Alistair Clelow who are both serving with the teams in the transitional relief phase.
When you buy the Turn on the Tap 750ml refillable stainless steel water bottle, you will always have water at hand and at least one person in South East Asia will get clean water for life as a result.
Each bottle purchased will give water to at least two people – you and the person that will receive safe water through Samaritan’s Purse projects that are funded through the sales of this bottle.
Did you miss the Seven Network Good Friday special called New Life: Three Stories of Hope? You can view it right here…
Christian Television Australia (CTA), in association with international aid agency Samaritan’s Purse Australia (SPA) presents Three stories of Hope and new life which was broadcast at 12 midday, on Good Friday 2010 on the Seven Network. (more…)
