Written by: Becky Tschamler
After a disaster occurs in one of our countries, we often raise money to help those affected. We do this to help provide things such as food and water, shelter, bedding, trauma counseling or medical treatment, among other needs. Many times we also send disaster relief kits.
Let me tell you what we mean when we say “disaster relief kit.”*
A couple of weeks ago there was an earthquake off the northern coast of Honduras. Buildings and homes were damaged, including some homes of Compassion-assisted children. (Don’t worry … if your child is affected, we will let you know individually.)
In response to the earthquake, the Compassion Honduras office provided disaster relief kits to the affected families and our communications guy sent me a picture. (Thanks, Yuri!) Anyway, I thought you might like to see it …
*This is just an example of one disaster relief kit we recently provided. Contents of other kits may vary.
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June 24th, 2009 at 7:55 am
That’s great! Wonderful to see what actually happens in the countries where we work.
Even here in the States, no matter whether we live along the Gulf or Atlantic Coast, or more inland, there’s always some kind of disaster. Hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, floods.
I wonder…are these disaster relief kits given out one per family, or one per person…? It looks like the one in the picture would go for an entire family, but I’m mainly wondering what happens when the water runs out, if normal water service is not available yet. Like in Bangladesh after the cyclone.
June 24th, 2009 at 8:46 am
I like how they put candy and cookies in there – those always brighten up my day, and I would hope they would do the same for the people affected by these disasters.
June 24th, 2009 at 9:49 am
Thanks! Very interesting as to what is supplied and the fact that Compassion is so reactive to these situations. Glad for the update on Honduras!
June 24th, 2009 at 11:43 am
Hi Judith,
This kit was designed to address the specific needs after the hurricane in Honduras.
Each time a disaster occurs, we tailor our response to best address the needs of that disaster.
In Bangladesh, Compassion distributed Oral Rehydration Therapy and water purifier tablets to families since clean water was such a huge need.
Each disaster will be different so it will call for a different response. I just wanted to share with you one recent response.
Becky
June 24th, 2009 at 5:17 pm
That’s neat to see. I’ve often heard about them but wondering what was actually in them, though I had a general idea. I love that there are cookies inside – something comforting in the midst of the calamity around them.
June 24th, 2009 at 5:34 pm
Wow — this is so interesting! Thanks so much for writing about this –
June 24th, 2009 at 6:43 pm
@Becky – It’s wonderful that things are personalized based on need, and not cookie cutter: one kit for all disasters. You’re right; the needs are different based on the situation.
But, is it one kit per family, and that’s it? or are additional supplies available if they run out of (food, diapers) before they can get more when things get back to normal?
June 25th, 2009 at 2:07 pm
Judith,
Yes, it’s one kit per family.
The purpose of a disaster relief kit is to provide immediate relief and address critical needs in the wake of a disaster. It is not meant to sustain the family long term.
In cases where there are additional long term needs, we follow up these immediate relief efforts with more sustainable solutions. This might include things like trauma counseling, income generation, or rebuilding homes.
June 25th, 2009 at 10:22 pm
@Becky – Thanks for the clarification.