Samaritan's Purse sending planeload of aid to Mozambique to help victims of deadly cyclone

Donations needed to address urgent demand for shelter, medical supplies, other aid

CALGARY, March 21, 2019 /CNW/ - Samaritan's Purse is sending its specially equipped DC-8 to Mozambique with shelter materials, tarps, and 15 disaster relief specialists—including two Canadians—to provide physical and spiritual aid for survivors of Cyclone Idai.

The plane, which is departing from the U.S. on Friday, March 22, will have 27 tons of emergency supplies to help the 400,000 people displaced by catastrophic flooding in Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Malawi. United Nations officials say Cyclone Idai may be the worst weather-related disaster ever to strike the Southern Hemisphere. More than 400 people have died and hundreds more are missing.

"Roads are washed out, communication is cut off, and hundreds of thousands of people are suffering," said Franklin Graham, president of Samaritan's Purse. "Please pray for Mozambique as we bring critical relief supplies and the hope of the Gospel to this hurting nation."

"This is a devastating event that will take years for the people in this region to recover from," added Ian Stokes, international disaster response manager for Samaritan's Purse Canada. "We will determine the best way we can meet urgent needs for individuals and communities who have suffered tremendous loss. People are traumatized and feeling overwhelmed. We will be helping in highly practical ways."

In recent years, Samaritan's Purse has assisted victims of a wide variety of international disasters including hurricanes Harvey, Maria, and Irma in the U.S. and the Caribbean in 2017, Hurricane Matthew in Haiti in 2016, the 2015 earthquake in Nepal, Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines in 2013, and the 2011 earthquake/tsunami in Japan.

In Canada, we have assisted victims of natural disasters including flooding in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Quebec, Ontario, Saskatchewan, southern Alberta, and British Columbia, plus wildfires in Fort McMurray, Alberta and the B.C. interior, and tornadoes in Ottawa-Gatineau.

Donations Needed: Canadians can donate to Samaritan's Purse disaster relief work by visiting SamaritansPurse.ca or calling 1-800-663-6500.

About Samaritan's Purse Canada: Samaritan's Purse is a Christian organization that takes its name from Jesus Christ's biblical story of the Good Samaritan. Like that Good Samaritan, who found a beaten man and helped restore him, we aid victims of war, disease, disaster, poverty, famine, and persecution. Besides disaster relief, our work includes collecting and distributing gift-filled Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes, and providing safe water, vocational skills and agricultural supplies and training to families in the developing world. Learn more at SamaritansPurse.ca

SOURCE Samaritan's Purse Canada