The 8.8-magnitude quake killed 795 people, according to the latest toll, and left two million of Chile’s 16 million population homeless. The earthquake was the seventh most powerful on record, and struck central Chile some 325 kilometers south of the capital Santiago and 115 kilometers north-northeast of the second city of Concepcion. About 20 minutes afterwards a tsunami in the form of three 6 metre plus waves devastated coastal towns.

ACC World Relief’s Response

ACC World Relief’s project partner, Convoy of Hope, is already on the ground working alongside local churches in providing help and supplies to those most in need. Another team is on their way bringing 40 water systems that collectively have a maximum daily capacity of providing over 70,000 litres of clean drinking water. Tents, blankets and food will also be provided.

Thank you in advance for your generosity and partnership in helping children, women and men tragically affected by the earthquake in Chile. Please pray that wisdom be given to decision-makers, comfort and peace to those who have lost loved ones and courage to those helping on the ground in the face of devastation and turmoil.

We also thank those of you who have participated in the recent Haiti Appeal. The good news is that because of your giving $168,000 has been donated to the efforts on the ground in Haiti. See our website for further reports.

HelpKids Children- Saving children from prostitution and abuse

According to Human Rights Watch 20,000 children are engaged in prostitution in Sri Lanka today. Child prostitution is a serious and growing concern within Sri Lanka, with poor children posing as vulnerable targets.

The country’s pedophile tourism industry attracts thousands of foreigners each year and contributes substantially to the amount of young boys at risk, who unfortunately make up 70% of exploited children.

The HelpKids Centre, a program dedicated to helping these children of Sri Lanka, has been successfully working for 3 years among high risk communities.

Through the current work of the program supported by child sponsors and other donors, HelpKids have flourished, providing rehabilitation and support, community awareness and education to children and their communities.

Around 2000 men, women and children in the communities are benefitingfrom the successful work of the HelpKids centre.

Integration of abused children into the local school system has improved and it is evident that cases of abuse in the community have dropped, according to local police and government agents.

HelpKids works to provide professional counseling, workshops, education opportunities, vocational training, risk awareness training and prevention work, to children, families and the greater community in order to effectively reduce child abuse and prevent it from happening into the future.

We wish to thank all donors and child sponsors who support the work of HelpKids.

Today, there are over 300,000 children living on the street in Mumbai

His vision began when he saw footage of a child living on the streets drinking dog’s milk to survive. Biju Thampy, director of Vision Rescue began feeding children in the city of Mumbia, India back in 2004 at Mahim station.

Today there are over 300,000 children living in the streets of Mumbai. Most are without homes or carers and are highly vulnerable to traffickers who trap the children into begging rings, criminal activities and even prostitution – many also become addicted to drugs and alcohol by the age of 8.

Starting with only 6 children, Vision Rescue has grown to well over 1000 children, providing them with food and non-formal education. The program has reaped great success with between 100-200 children graduating to formal education or vocational training each year.

Biju Thampy’s aim is to reach every child on the streets of Mumbai and through the success of Vision Rescue more than 1000 children now appear healthier and are less prevalent to sickness than when his work began.

The program provides children with the necessities to stay alive and healthy, help in the prevention of the dangers in the street and the ability to go further in life with an education which sustains them to a point of future employment and a life away from the streets.

We wish to thank all donors and child sponsors who support the work and vision of Vision Rescue.

Empowering young women in Jaipur with vocational training

Savita, a young woman aged 23, has just completed her training and is now teaching young girls in sewing skills, a much needed trade in her community. With the help of some colleagues she is now producing childrens’ school uniforms for Australian students. From a girl who grew up in the slums of Jaipur, Savita’s life and circumstances have dramatically changed.

Through the kindness of Australians and the work of Helping Hands, women and girls like Savita have been empowered and enabled to move further away from a life of poverty in the slums of India. By providing people with the skills they need, individuals and families are able to gain employment they would not previously have attained.

Living standards have improved by as much as 80% among the people participating in Helping Hands vocational training programs in these slum areas.

“There is an ongoing rise in employment within community members who have undergone some form of skill, business or vocational training.” expresses project manager Bob Mann. “Currently we are educating 195 children with 80% of those students graduating to higher education.”

Helping Hands has provided the slum community with multiple opportunities to break out of often hopeless circumstances, through activities concerning health, education, skills for employment or simply hygiene within their homes. Training, education, practical workshops and sewing centres have helped move the community towards more sustainable economic growth, healthier living and increased prospects of a better future.

We wish to thank all donors and child sponsors who support the work of Helping Hands.

Locals unload relief in Ratanakiri province

Cambodia- Conditions After Ketsana

On 30th September last year thousands were affected by the mass flooding
in Ratanakiri province of northern Cambodia after typhoon Ketsana swept through neighboring countries.

In neighboring country Vietnam, rivers rose up to 12 meters causing mass destruction of homes and crops. These caused floods downstream to flow into Cambodia wiping out farms.

ACC World Relief were able to provide immediate aid to families affected by the disaster. The distribution of mosquito nets, tarps, food stuffs, hygiene and cooking essentials reduced the risk of sickness, malaria and exposure for over 200 families.

“After-affects of typhoon Ketsana are still going to be felt across Ratanakiri province for some time,” says Project Manager Sarah Ardu.

One of the major issues within the affected communities has been loss of food security due to the desolation of over 6000 hectares of crops.

Relief efforts have also gone into supplying families with seeds to plant new crops, allowing families to have food beyond the emergency handouts.

“It is taking longer than expected to get flood affected villagers to adopt new crop strategies to make up for their lost rice crops, but we are still confident that by supplying watering cans, seeds and training, their new crops will be successful.”

We wish to thank all those generous donors who supported and gave to the Philippines Emergency Relief Appeal, helping victims affected by typhoon Ketsana.

Distributing meals and supplies to victims

The official death toll from the recent earthquake in Haiti currently sits at 230,000, far greater than the initial estimate of 150,000.

Efforts have moved from search and rescue to the supply of food, water, emergency shelter and medical assistance.

ACC World Relief’s project partner, Convoy of Hope, which has its base just outside the capital city of Port Au Prince have been providing meals to people in the area, as well as to children in three local orphanages. So far over 3.1 million meals have been distributed by Convoy of Hope.

More teams have started arriving to assess the long term strategies for Convoy of Hope’s operations. These will focus on the distribution of supplies, feeding programs, rebuilding, and agricultural and water recovery.

To meet the urgent need for clean water for drinking, water purification systems which are capable of delivering 200,000 litres of clean drinking water per day have been brought into the country and local people are been trained in their use.

Short Supplies-Hitting Haiti Hard

It’s now almost a month since areas around Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince were devastated by a massive earthquake, yet conditions continue to deteriorate.

The current lack of food and water shows no signs of improving anytime soon. And even where food is available it’s in limited amounts and sold on the street- many families simply do not have the money to pay for it.

Unmanaged logistical and security issues still hamper attempts by Aid groups to supply basic needs to victims. However ACCWR’s partner on the ground, Convoy of Hope, were able to breakthrough these and other difficulties due to them already having in place teams of workers and a warehouse full of supplies. By being prepared for the worst they responded quickly and effectively when the need arose.

“The situation regarding food and water remains dire,” says Kevin Rose, Haiti director for Convoy of Hope. “The lack of fuel and security issues has made it very difficult to move food around the city. But through our network of partners we are getting food into some of the most desperate places.”

Convoy of Hope worked behind the scenes to get water distributed to victims by installing two water filters at an orphanage in the capital city. Children in the orphanage were surviving on half a cup of water a day, which was not nearly enough considering the heat and humidity in Haiti.

During the first two weeks after the disaster Convoy of Hope successfully distributed 1.6 million meals to victims – all due to generous donations and ongoing support.

“The reason we were able to get food to so many people so fast was because we were already feeding thousands of children each day throughout Haiti,” says Hal Donaldson, president of Convoy of Hope. “Long-standing, strategic partnerships such as the one we have with Mission of Hope became pipelines that enabled us to quickly and efficiently get food and supplies to some of the hardest-hit areas.”

Convoy of Hope-

[3rd February 2010]

On ground reporter tells what’s really happening in Haiti.

The man moved to the front of the line outside Quisqueya Chapel, Convoy of Hope’s main distribution point in Port-au-Prince. He looked desperate and scared.

Clinging to his neck was his three-year-old daughter. When Paul Coroleuski, director of field services, saw the girl he told her father, “As soon as one of the beds in the clinic opens up we’ll get her in.”

A few minutes later the girl was on a table in the makeshift clinic, which was located in the shade of trees in the church’s courtyard. The girl’s breathing was labored and she was lethargic. After examining her one of the medical team members told her father to get her to a hospital immediately because her condition was beyond the range of services the clinic could address.

The man said a hospital had sent him and his daughter to the clinic, where Convoy of Hope was assisting a medical team from Mission of Hope, one of Convoy of Hope’s long-time partners in Haiti.

Slowly, the man scooped up his daughter and carried her away. One of the clinic doctors said that if the girl wasn’t taken to a hospital, that could meet her needs, she would be dead in a few hours.

The little girl’s story is one of the many cruel realities that play out each day in Haiti. People are suffering and even dying because they cannot get the help they need.

Convoy of Hope is committed to eliminating as much death and despair as it can in Haiti. With your help we’ve already distributed more than 350,000 meals and installed 30 water filters that will provide clean drinking water for countless people for many years to come.

“We are absolutely amazed and extremely grateful for those who have given to Convoy of Hope so that we can meet the many needs represented in Haiti,” says Hal Donaldson, president of Convoy of Hope. “Each day through our distribution points in Port-au-Prince we are able to make a difference in people’s lives.”

Donaldson notes that those who had already been giving to Convoy of Hope before the earthquake struck in Haiti played a part in helping Haitians immediately after the earthquake struck.

“Our warehouse in Haiti had just been restocked with food and supplies before the earthquake,” says Donaldson. “That allowed us to begin meeting needs in Haiti immediately… That warehouse was stocked with food and supplies in part because generous donors gave sacrificially.”

Convoy of Hope has 1 million pounds of food and supplies currently headed to Haiti.

“We’ll send more in the coming days and weeks,” says Donaldson. “We have made a long-term commitment to Haiti and we will be depending heavily on our friends to help us help Haiti.”

Masses are leaving Port-au-Prince, heading to refugee camps set up outside the city as resources grow thin and conditions deteriorate. Over 10,000 people are estimated to be fleeing the city and finding refuge elsewhere.

A total of 50,000 bodies are currently accounted for, but the Haitian government expects the numbers to rise between 100,000 and 200,000. Search and rescue personnel, numbering to 1,500 across the city continue their search for victims trapped under thick ruble with the help of over 100 cadaver dogs.

Haitians and aid teams are faced with complicated issues such as lack of fuel, dumped waste and even bodies laying uncovered.

“Major health concerns continue to grow as bodies accumulate in the streets and contaminate water sources” reported a field-worker with Convoy of Hope. “Lack of fuel is also a major concern within the city..as we do our best to work out logistical issues for our teams.”

Although, efforts have still been made as ACC World Relief’s project partner Convoy of Hope were already significantly prepared. “Our Convoy of Hope team is in six locations, 64,000 meals were distributed yesterday. Saturday, our team was able to distribute 100,000 meals in five different locations. In addition, we have given a weeks worth of food rations to 500 families.