Impact Stories

The Humanitarian Coalition members are taking care of basic survival needs and helping people rebuild their lives when their homes, schools and livelihoods have been devastated by a disaster. Learn more about these crises and meet people who have benefited from your support.

Twelve-year-old Tino has had to deal with serious trauma. She lost both her parents and all three of her siblings when Cyclone Idai struck her village in Zimbabwe, and washed her house away in the middle of the night.
Nasima lives in the Jamalpur district of Bangladesh where more than 2 million people were affected by floods in July 2019. More than 100,000 hectares of crops were washed away -- a land area the size of Toronto.
In August 2019, when wildfires burned out of control in Bolivia, wells and drinking water were contaminated.

A 7.5 magnitude earthquake struck the Indonesian island of Sulawesi on September 28, followed by a tsunami with waves up to 6 metres high. The quake led to the liquefaction of the soil in some places, softening the earth and causing it to flow.

Ten days of heavy rain caused flooding to six of Mali’s 10 regions at the end of August 2019. Houses and farmland were damaged, the market and cemetery in Guiré were flooded, and schools, health centres, latrines and wells were damaged. Alou and his large family were not spared.

In July 2019, heavy rain caused intense flooding across Northern Bangladesh, where Abeda lives. Nearly 7.6 million people were affected by the flooding, which was most severe in the District of Jamalpur.

With support from the Humanitarian Coalition and the government of Canada, Islamic Relief was in Jogendra’s community, responding with life-saving support to the affected population. They provided shelter, food and household items, water and hygiene, and organized cash-for-work projects.

When Cyclone Idai hit Mozambique in March 2019, houses and sanitation facilities were destroyed and water sources were contaminated.

When the flooding due to Cyclone Idai devastated the Southern Region of Malawi, the house Eva shared with her children and grandchildren collapsed. They were forced to find shelter in a nearby camp where they stayed for about three months before they could return and rebuild.

Alick Lozani says that when the flooding from Cyclone Idai rose around his house, he, his wife and three children covered their front door with mud to keep the knee-high water out, and waited inside for four days before the water dried up.

Everything that Margret Nkudu had built over many years disappeared in a few hours, including her house, her livestock, and the village dip tank.

In 2019, the Humanitarian Coalition responded to 13 humanitarian emergencies around the world through the work of its members and the support of donors and the Government of Canada.