East Africa Drought Crisis

 

  The crisis caused by drought in East Africa reached catastrophic proportions in 2011. At the peak of the crisis, the United Nations raised its food security alert level to its maximum. According to the members of the HUMANITARIAN COALITION, all of whom are present and responding to the crisis, at least 13 million people were affected in the region, particularly in Somalia, southern Ethiopia and northern Kenya. The population of the largest refugee camp in the world, Dadaab in Kenya surpassed 380,000 individuals. Despite the capacity and expertise of members of the HUMANITARIAN COALITION in the region,  funding shortfalls continued to limit their ability to scale up programming in proportion to the needs. Throughout Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya, millions of people - mostly children - were in urgent need of food, drinking water and basic sanitation. Entire communities had literally collapsed, livelihoods were already damaged beyond repair and children and families were severely affected by malnutrition.

Please note that the HUMANITARIAN COALITION is no longer accepting donations for the East Africa Drought Crisis. However, our members continue to support essential programs in support of families and communities that are affected by the drought in that region.  We encourage you to support our member organisations directly by visiting their websites:

•         CARE Canada
•         Oxfam Canada
•         Oxfam-Québec   (in French)
•         Plan Canada
•         Save the Children Canada

Below are just some examples of actions that were taken by the HUMANITARIAN COALITION members in response to this humanitarian crisis.

Care Canada Logo

CARE’s Response to the Drought Crisis

CARE has decades of experience in the affected region and is responding to the urgent needs of drought-affected individuals. CARE is working in Ethiopia, Northern Somalia (Somaliland & Puntland), and Kenya particularly in the provision of clean water and food. In Kenya, CARE is responding to the refugee crisis that has arisen as a result of the drought, and is the primary distributor of food, water and primary education for the 400,000 refugees currently living in the world’s largest refugee camp, Dabaab.

To date, CARE has:

  • In Kenya, CARE is providing food, water, primary education and psychological support to over 400,000 residents in the Dadaab refugee camps
  • CARE is also working with 305,000 people in north-eastern Kenya to reduce long-term vulnerabilities
  • In Ethiopia, CARE is providing emergency food and water, and implementing livelihood assistance such as seed distribution
  • CARE is also reaching families in Northern Somalia with water source rehabilitation and livelihoods support

To find out more, visit www.care.ca

Oxfam Canada Logo

Oxfam’s Response in East Africa

Oxfam's response to the drought includes programs in Somaliland, Ethiopia and Kenya with a mixture of emergency aid, long-term development and prevention, and advocacy to address the root causes of chronic drought. Oxfam aims to provide food, clean water and hygiene facilities.

Among other activities, Oxfam's actions in the areas affected by drought include providing food, clean water and hygiene facilities, the construction/repair of water tanks and wells and “de-stocking” programs (for pastoralist' livestock).

  • Oxfam has helped 1.52 million people in the Horn of Africa since July 1st
  • Oxfam partners are operating the single largest public health program in Somalia, providing clean water to 329,000 displaced Somalis in camps outside Mogadishu and operating the largest therapeutic feeding program for children and mothers in Somalia
  • Seeds are distributed to 18,000 beneficiaries in Somalia in the event of rain
  • In Kenya, Oxfam has supported over 622,200 pastoralists and refugees with essential water, sanitation and hygiene activities as well as food distribution and cash transfer programs
  • In Ethiopia, Oxfam has reached more than 60,465 people with water, sanitation and hygiene kits

Find out more by visiting www.oxfam.ca

Plan Canada Logo

Plan’s Response to the Drought Crisis

Plan has been working for many years in the region to strengthen communities against drought but a combination of failed rains, climate change and rising food prices have put more than 10 million people at high risk.

•    Plan’s most immediate efforts in helping over 260,000 people in Kenya and more than 1 million people in Ethiopia includes providing critically needed high-protein and calorie-rich food supplements to children, breastfeeding moms, and pregnant women suffering from malnutrition
•    Plan is also providing supplementary feeding to needy households and families; delivering medicine; trucking clean water to health facilities and schools; and providing medical training for health workers
•    Plan has also been active in outreach to local parents on awareness and promotion of child protection strategies during emergencies

To find out more, visit http://www.plancanada.ca

Save The Children Canada Logo

Save the Children’s Response to the Drought Crisis

Save the Children has worked in East Africa for decades and was able to respond very quickly to the unfolding crisis.  As we race to address the scale of the humanitarian needs in the region, the following are examples of Save the Children’s response so far.

  • Save the Children has already reached over 1 million people across East Africa - 500,000 in Ethiopia, 410,000 in Kenya and nearly 100,000 in Somalia - with water & sanitation, nutrition, health, child protection and education programming.
  • Emergency water trucking by Save the Children has already provided over 27 million litres of clean water to over 135,000 people
  • Save the Children has begun to provide basic healthcare to over 150,000 people
  • Save the Children is scaling-up child protection activities in Dadaab including the screening and training of 300 foster parents and continues to respond to cases of child exploitation and neglect - over 1000 separated or unaccompanied children have been added to our caseload.

To find out more, visit www.savethechildren.ca

French Ontario mobilizes in solidarity with the Horn of Africa

12/08/2011

From August 11 to October 16,  2011, GroupeMédia TFO will be proudly partnering with two of Ontario’s most important bilingual institutions—the University of Ottawa and Glendon College of York University—in a campaign to raise funds within the Franco-Ontarian community to help the 12 million people suffering from famine in the Horn of Africa as the result of the worst drought in 60 years.

Read more...

Japan Earthquake and Tsunami

In the aftermath of the earthquake relief emergency across the globe have been organized to help the hundreds of thousands of people affected in Japan. In Canada, the Humanitarian Coalition has not failed to play its role by raising funds and distributing them directly to its partners on the site. With our rich experience in humanitarian response of over 200 years in over 120 countries and the dedication of our Japanese partners working in close coordination with government authorities, the efforts of the Humanitarian Coalition helped reach hundreds of thousands of survivors earthquake, helping them to cope with the challenges posed by cold , fears of a worsening situation at a nearby nuclear power plant and substantial aftershocks.

To learn more about the work done by members of the HUMANITARIAN COALITION and its partners in Japan, please click here .

 

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CARE in Japan

Right after the disaster a convoy organized by CARE Japan drove to the city of Kamaishi inIwate prefecture, one of the most hit areas, and handed relief items such as toilet paper, water, face masks, sanitary tissues, biscuits, fruits and small portions of rice to the local government which is coordinating the emergency response. A CARE International emergency team has been deployed Japan to assist CARE Japan with the emergency response. They identified that housing, livelihoods, education, and the emotional trauma of such an event will be major issues that need to be addressed in the medium and long-term. Large numbers of the population in the affected areas were elderly, many of them women, and they are especially vulnerable.

Learn more about CARE's work in Japan

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Oxfam in Japan

Oxfam has supported a local multi-language centre, FACIL, to help the estimated 40,000 non-Japanese speakers in the affected area with a hotline, portable radios and batteries, and translation of information put out by local authorities. Oxfam has also worked with the Japan Organization for International Cooperation on Family Planning, the Japanese Midwives’ Association and local obstetrics and gynecologists to provide private spaces for breastfeeding in the evacuation centers, diapers and sanitary goods, and counseling to women under high stress.

Learn more about Oxfam's work in Japan

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Save the Children in Japan

Save the Children opened the first child-friendly space in Sendai less than five days after the earthquake and tsunami, in a primary school currently being used as an evacuation centre. In this protective environment, children can play, talk about their experiences, and establish a routine in a chaotic situation.  Save the Children will set up more child friendly spaces over coming days to complement the Japanese government-led relief effort

Learn more about Save the Children's work in Japan

Pakistan Floods

The strong monsoon that hit Pakistan in July-August 2010 caused devastating floods, causing landslides, and floods of water that engulfed entire communities. Following this worst emergency for decades, 1 700 people lost their lives and 20 million have been forced to live in camps or in tents next to their destroyed homes, where temperatures below freezing have further complicated their conditions of life. Drinking water, health care, food and safe shelter, to name it, were part of serious daily challenges for those victims during this period.

In response to this unprecedented crisis, the HUMANITARIAN COALITION has raised 2.3 million dollars from its donors to lend a hand to Pakistan.

By distributing in the emergency drinking water, sanitation, food, emergency shelters, and basic health care, the efforts of our members have saved thousands of lives.

For more information about our responses to Pakistan floods, read the repports from our members below:

Care Canada Logo

Response to Pakistan Floods

 

One Year After Pakistan Floods

Oxfam Canada Logo

Response to Pakistan Floods


Pakistan'Resislience to disasters: One Year from the floods.

Save The Children Canada Logo

Response to Pakistan Floods

 

One Year After the Floods: Pakistan Struggles to Rebuild

Plan Canada Logo

Response to Pakistan Floods

 

Pakistan Floods: One Year On

Haiti Earthquake

Grandmother with grandchildren The members of the HUMANITARIAN COALITION have been present in Haiti for more than five decades and had more than 600 staff working in the country when the earthquake hit on January 12th. They immediately responded to meet the urgent needs of survivors of the quake. Now, six months after the disastrous earthquake in Haiti, the HUMANITARIAN COALITION and its members have shifted their focus from emergency relief to the longer-term work of supporting Haitian communities as they rebuild their country. While life in Haiti is beginning to return to some semblance of normality, there is still a great deal of work to be done.

Relief workers with CARE Canada, Oxfam Canada, Oxfam-Québec and Save the Children Canada shifted their efforts from emergency relief to fostering recovery and reconstruction. A long road lays ahead for the people of Haiti and the members of the HUMANITARIAN COALITION will remain in the country for years to come, helping every step of the way.

Over the past six months, the members of the HUMANITARIAN COALITION have effectively contributed to rebuilding Haiti alongside the survivors of the earthquake. The members of the HUMANITARIAN COALITION have reached hundreds of thousands of Haitians with essential and urgently needed assistance.

Here are just a few examples and highlights of the many different activities undertaken so far:

  •   CARE has created 20 women's centres in Carrefour and Leogane to help prevent gender-based violence and raise awareness about HIV/AIDS.
  •   Save the Children has registered 1,740 children in family tracking and reunification programs. To date, 567 children have been reunited with their family.
  •   134,000 people are benefitting from Oxfam's cash-for-work programs.
  •   Save the Children has reached more than 100,000 people with health and nutritional programs.
  •   1,575 families have received spinach and okra seeds from CARE to improve their access to fresh food.
  •   Oxfam hygiene kits are benefitting 120,000 people.

To find out more about the efforts of these organizations in Haiti, read:

Save the Children's, Serving Haiti's Children Now, Rebuilding For Their Future
Oxfam Canada's six-month update on Haiti
Oxfam Quebec's six-month report on Haiti (in French)
CARE's Haiti earthquake appeal

 

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CARE Canada’s Haiti Earthquake Response

CARE’s assistance began the morning after the quake. Even though many of our staff in Haiti had lost their own homes and family, they immediately went to work surveying the damage and needs and mounting recovery and relief efforts. CARE has reached more than 290,000 beneficiaries through the distribution of tarps, tents, shelter kits, ropes, mattresses, blankets, kitchen sets, jerry cans, hygiene, clean delivery kits, newborn kits and food and is providing access to water through installation of water bladders and water tankers, in Port-au-Prince, Pétionville, Carrefour, Léogâne, and Jérémie.

Shipments of tents and shelter supplies have been delivered and CARE is mobilizing additional staff to assist in setting up temporary shelters in Leogane. The United Nations is also now supplying CARE with reproductive health kits and clean delivery kits for distribution. CARE is currently targeting 106,053 beneficiaries through latrine construction and 44,550 through water trucking in Carrefour and Léogâne. Additionally, CARE is creating 20 women's centres in Carrefour and Leogane to help prevent gender-based violence and raise awareness about HIV/AIDS, and is helping improve health facilities for victims of gender-based violence.

Oxfam Canada Logo

Oxfam’s Haiti Earthquake Response

Oxfam Canada and Oxfam-Québec are distributing clean water, building water taps, installing latrines and setting up bladders of water to store clean water in temporary camps. After sending more than 60 tons of supplies from Canada, England, Panama and Spain, we have now helped more than 204,000 people with aid, and are hoping to reach more than 500,000. At the General Hospital in Port-au-Prince, we’ve trucked in clean water and set up a massive bladder to keep the hospital supplied with water that’s crucial to cleaning, sterilizing equipment and cooking meals. We’ve distributed plastic sheeting for use as shelter and organized and distributed “family kits” consisting of feminine hygiene products, pots, buckets and kitchen utensils.

In Carrefour, the epicenter of the quake, Oxfam began paying community members to start cleaning up the area by removing rubbish and waste. Cash-for-work programs mean that individuals not only improve their living conditions, they also earn desperately-needed money to buy food and other necessities.

Save The Children Canada Logo

Save the Children’s Haiti Earthquake Response

Children are always the most vulnerable when a disaster strikes, so Save the Children has been reaching out to families and children by providing medical support, food, water and other supplies such as blankets, plastic sheeting, water storage containers and hygiene kits.  The agency has coordinated with Haitian authorities, the international community, local and international organizations and communities to reach an estimated 682,000 children and adults - with lifesaving and life-sustaining assistance. 

Save the Children is leading a number of child protection activities, such as reunifying separated and unaccompanied children with their families.  As well, we have set up more than 50 child-friendly spaces to keep children safe while their parents engage in relief activities.  In these spaces they are provided with educational and creative programming to help them return to a sense of normalcy as well as feel a sense of security in a safe location. Save the Children has distributed medication to hospitals and clinics, set up mobile clinics to provide medical consultations and is supporting primary health care activities.

ASIA PACIFIC DISASTERS

The devastating week began with floods in the Philippines, caused by a tropical storm that later strengthened to a typhoon as it hit Vietnam. An earthquake then triggered a tsunami in the small island nation of Samoa, washing away homes and businesses. A day later, a powerful earthquake and its aftershocks collapsed numerous buildings on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. Another typhoon is gathering strength off the coast of the Philippines and is expected to make landfall soon.

In the face of such a confluence of crises, the HUMANITARIAN COALITION, comprised of CARE Canada, Oxfam Canada, Oxfam-Québec and Save the Children Canada, is raising funds for the hundreds of thousands of people affected by these events. Through the coordination of these top agencies, Canadian donations will be allocated where they will be most effective.

“The scope of these disasters is dramatically widespread with hundreds of thousands  of children and families affected by collapsing buildings, flood waters, loss of electricity and lack of access to food and clean water,” said David Morley, President and CEO of Save the Children Canada.

Emergency programs include the delivery of safe drinking water, food, shelter materials and hygiene kits.

“In Indonesia, we had aid ready because this area is susceptible to this type of tragedy. Communications with the quake-zone are difficult and we are hoping for the best but having to plan for the worst,” said Oxfam-Quebec Executive Director Pierre Véronneau. “In Philippines and Vietnam, we’re focusing on where needs are the greatest. Our biggest worry is public health. If it’s not addressed quickly, it could lead to another disaster.

With a combined presence in 120 countries, joint efforts by the members of the HUMANITARIAN COALITION provide an effective response to emergencies. The campaign has one call centre, one phone number and a joint website for online donations.

 

  • See some pictures from the disaster and relief efforts - click here

East African Hunger

As the world approaches the 25th anniversary of the 1984 East African famine, Canada’s leading aid agencies are warning of a new crisis looming in East Africa. A perfect storm of crop failures, a multi-year lack of rain, the effects of climate change, conflicts and political turmoil threaten some 20 million people with severe hunger in East Africa.

“The rainy seasons successively have been poor. Then you have the other problems of post-election violence in Kenya, the war in Somalia that led to the displacement of people and the inability to plant crops. All of this increases food insecurity,” says Stephen Gwynne-Vaughan, Country Director of CARE’s Kenya office. “The resiliency of these people has been stretched beyond its limits. They can’t take any more shocks.”

The members of the HUMANITARIAN COALITION – CARE Canada, Oxfam Canada, Oxfam-Québec and Save the Children Canada – have already launched programs throughout the region to support the vulnerable communities being affected.  Canadians wishing to support those programs are invited to donate online through the HUMANITARIAN COALITION web site.

Through the coordination of these top agencies, Canadian donations will be allocated where they will be most effective.

“This is the kind of crisis that demands we work together,” said Robert Fox, Executive Director of Oxfam Canada. “We are playing a critical role with the people on the frontline of this crisis, the people who are desperately doing everything they can to feed their families and protect their herds. We hope Canadians will support our efforts.”

With a combined presence in over 120 countries, the joint efforts by the members of the HUMANITARIAN COALITION provide a widespread and effective response to emergencies.

 

 

Myanmar - Cyclone Nargis

Cyclone Nargis struck the southwest coast of Myanmar (Burma) on Saturday, May 3, 2008 with wind gusts up to 240 kph. Current estimates are that over 1.5 million people have been severely affected by this disaster, with as many as 100,000 feared dead and more than one million people homeless. Communication lines have been badly damaged and roads travel is difficult. The needs are great, and Canadians donated generously to support the relief efforts.

One year after - RELEASE

Click here to see pictures from Burma

Read below to learn more about what the member agencies are doing to help.

Care Canada Logo

Activities to date - Cyclone Nargis

One year on, CARE has supported 304,265 people in 195 villages in the most affected regions.

CARE has implemented a three-phase recovery plan to assist with the immediate relief as well as the ongoing rehabilitation of livelihoods, infrastructure and business. The entire response is expected to take at least three years.

In addition to the 500 CARE staff working in Myanmar prior to the cyclone, CARE has employed an additional 300 staff to assist with the delivery of the Cyclone Nargis recovery plan.

CARE's shelter activities met temporary needs of survivors and now focus on the construction of more sustainable housing.

Farmers have been provided with diesel, thresher machines and tractors. Fertiliser and paddy seeds have also been distributed, as well as training in compost making and harvest technology. CARE will target 10,000 households in the next crucial planting period for the monsoon rice harvest, that 85 per cent of the population depend on for food.

CARE expects to vaccinate 60,000 cattle and buffalos against foot and mouth disease. To date, 9,583 cattle and buffaloes from the Irrawaddy region and 22,857 in Yangon have received their first round of vaccinations and 8,944 cattle and buffaloes in the Yangon division have received booster vaccinations.

CARE continues to implement a range of Water, sanitation and health (WASH) activities including pond renovation, new pond construction, pond fencing, hand tube wells, deep tube wells, shallow tube wells, hygiene promotion, water quality testing and water distribution. Salinity continues to be a serious issue in some areas. Drinking water distribution is ongoing in 15 villages with 2,065 households receiving 83,034 litres of safe water every week. To date, 135 hygiene promotion activities have been carried out in 21 villages.

Ahead of the one-year Cyclone Nargis Memorial, CARE is conducting a range of psychosocial support activities with affected communities to assist in the emotional recovery of those affected.

General food distributions are ongoing in target villages. Following the loss of up to 80 per cent of yields in the December rice harvest, food distributions that were intended to finish at the end of April 2009 will now continue to the end of the year.

Livelihood recovery in the fisheries sector continues. CARE has released 500,000 shrimp fingerlings and 800,000 prawn fingerlings into waterways and has distributed 200 cast nets, 160 push nets and 8,000 crab traps to 3,606 people throughout 18 villages.

More than 100 vulnerable women have been selected to receive a small trader grants for income generation.

Activities to mitigate and protect communities from future disasters have included awareness-raising, hazard mapping and community action planning at the household and community level, and construction of 'Lifesaving Hills' to protect communities from future tidal surges and flash flooding.

Oxfam Canada Logo

Activities to date - Cyclone Nargis

Oxfam has reached approximately half a million people with aid following Cyclone Nargis.

Oxfam has provided 64 000 households with water-related support. This has included giving people emergency water and reconstructing water infrastructure systems, or providing water storage containers.

Oxfam has given approximately 53,000 households emergency shelter materials to protect them from the elements or assistance to rebuild their homes.

Oxfam has given approximately 11 000 households fishing or farming support so that they can continue to generate an income.

Oxfam has given approximately 26,000 households food or cash-for-work support to assist in small-scale rehabilitation of infrastructure or to receive vocational training to build their capacity to earn an income.

Oxfam has supported the rehabilitation of early childhood care and development centers and schools provided school supplies, uniforms, and books.

Oxfam is providing radios to communities as an early warning radio system that would benefit 45 000 villagers.

Oxfam and our partners are now supporting communities on the very long road to recovery.

Oxfam's direct cyclone response work is a three-year programme, and in the next two years, subject to funding, aims to reach 243 000 people in the hardest-hit townships in the Ayeyarwardy delta with livelihoods and water and sanitation support.

Oxfam are working to restore agricultural and fisheries production to pre-cyclone levels so that people in the region can generate an income to feed themselves and their families and avoid getting further into debt.

Oxfam is working to reduce long-term public health risks and are safeguarding people from water-borne diseases, by helping communities to restore their water supplies and through distributing pots, buckets and water purification means and building latrines.

Save The Children Canada Logo

Activities to date - Cyclone Nargis

Save the Children has been working to improve the lives and well-being of children and families in Myanmar for about 14 years. The agency, which had 500 staff members in country when the cyclone struck, launched an immediate and sustained relief effort, providing life-saving and life-sustaining assistance to storm survivors as well as working to reunite separated children with their families, provide health services, get children back into school and support them in their emotional and psychological recovery. In the months following Cyclone Nargis, Save the Children was able to mount one of its largest emergency responses in its history.

The agency has helped 137,000 children get back into school; supported 40,000 families with cash grants to restart their livelihoods; and provided 60,000 people with drinking water through the height of the dry season, among other programs. Save the Children also has been working with children and their communities to plan and prepare for future disasters, strengthen schools and other structures, and map evacuation routes. In the year following Cyclone Nargis, Save the Children has assisted over 600,000 people, half of them children, who were most affected by the storm.

Recovery from the storm has been uneven. While commercial centers are showing good signs of recovery, more remote areas and those most affected by Nargis are still struggling. There is not enough work for the landless poor, which make up an estimated 50 percent of the Delta's population.

Crisis In Kenya

The effects will be long-lasting: businesses will need to be rebuilt, homes will have to be constructed, crops must be replanted, children must return to school and efforts will have to be made to help bring lasting peace. HUMANITARIAN COALITION member agencies CARE Canada, Oxfam Canada, Oxfam-Québec and Save the Children are working across the affected areas to help and support families and communities. Below are of examples of how the money raised is helping people in Kenya to rebuild their lives. Save The Children Canada is Distributing educational kits with materials such as exercise books, pens and pencils and recreational kits with play items to children living in temporary camps. Save the Children is also helping reunite children with their families. CARE Canada Through numerous distribution points, CARE is providing essential relief assistance to tens of thousands of internally displaced people, including food and essential items such as shelter, blankets and hygiene kits. OXFAM

Floods in Southern Africa

The effects will be long-lasting: businesses will need to be rebuilt, homes will have to be constructed, crops must be replanted, children must return to school and efforts will have to be made to help bring lasting solutions through disaster preparedness planning. HUMANITARIAN COALITION member agencies CARE Canada, Oxfam Canada, Oxfam-Québec and Save the Children are working across the affected areas to help and support families and communities. Save The Children Canada Distributing educational kits with materials such as exercise books, pens and pencils and recreational kits with play items to children living in temporary camps. Save the Children is also helping reunite children with their families. CARE Canada Through numerous distribution points, CARE is providing essential relief assistance to tens of thousands of internally displaced people, including food and essential items such as shelter, blankets and hygiene kits. OXFAM Providing families with safe water storage and sanitation facilities and helping communities build local capacity.

Oxfam Canada Logo

Oxfam

Providing families with safe water storage and sanitation facilities and helping communities build local capacity.

Care Canada Logo

CARE Canada

Through numerous distribution points, CARE is providing essential relief assistance to tens of thousands of internally displaced people, including food and essential items such as shelter, blankets and hygiene kits.

Save The Children Canada Logo

Save the Children - Floods in Southern Africa

Distributing educational kits with materials such as exercise books, pens and pencils and recreational kits with play items to children living in temporary camps. Save the Children is also helping reunite children with their families.

Appeal Sponsors

World Health Organisation (WHO) - Donated $30,000 to go towards the appeal

UNICEF - Helped move affected families and contributed $20,000 of aid towards the rising health crisis

Middle East Conflict

The HUMANITARIAN COALITION coordinated a comprehensive and efficient regional response to assist the people touched by this conflict in the Middle East. THE HUMANITARIAN COALITION members were already present in Lebanon, the West Bank and Gaza, Israel, Jordan and Syria, all of which were affected by the crisis. The emergency response was based entirely on meeting the needs of the most vulnerable. The HUMANITARIAN COALITION raised $120,000.00. The money raised went directly to the people in region, providing food, water, child protection and social support where it was most needed. Coalition members distributed essential supplies during and immediately following the crisis, including diapers, milk, clothing, hygiene kits and blankets. Support continued after the violence abated with reconstruction projects for municipal water supplies, helping to bring water to more than 2000 homes. In all, your generous donations directly helped improve the lives of 27,496 people, of which a majority were children.

Pakistan Earthquake

The campaign consolidated and expedited the Canadian relief effort and represents a significant milestone in Canada. It was the first time that Canadians were able to respond to a major humanitarian crisis in a single and unified voice. With your generous donations, the members of the HUMANITARIAN COALITION were able to help nearly 450,000 people affected by the earthquakes. Hygiene kits, winter clothes, blankets, tents, food and water were delivered to those in the greatest need. Schools have been rebuilt and many were renovated to allow for winter shelter. The sustained relief work in the region continues still, providing shelter for millions of homeless and helping victims survive the aftershocks, injury and illness.