By Ilexene Alphonse January 12 is a date forever engraved in my heart for two reasons: first, January 12, 2007, I married the love of my life, Michaela Alphonse; second, January 12, 2010, the worst natural disaster in my time, a massive earthquake, destroyed my native country of Haiti and my people. It was the
The Emergency Disaster Fund (EDF) and the Global Food Initiative Fund (GFI) have announced first grants for the year 2020. Brethren Disaster Ministries has directed EDF grants to a rebuilding project in Florida following Hurricane Irma; new work of the Disaster Recovery Support Initiative (DRSI) under the direction of Church World Service (CWS); and flood
By Jenn Dorsch Messler The Church of the Brethren Puerto Rico District continues to ask for prayer for those affected by earthquake aftershocks and tremors continuing daily. More than 1,200 small earthquakes have occurred in Puerto Rico since Dec. 28, 2019. Several quakes over magnitude 5.0 have caused great damage, especially in the south, with
Roxane Hill is concluding her position as coordinator of the Nigeria Crisis Response, as of the end of this year. Her husband, Carl Hill, pastor of Potsdam (Ohio) Church of the Brethren, also previously worked with her on the response. The Nigeria Crisis Response is not ending but programming is being reduced, although funding for
Children’s Disaster Services (CDS) deployed a team to Beaumont, Texas, in response to the flooding from Tropical Depression Imelda. The team arrived Sunday, Sept. 22, and began serving children in Beaumont and Silsbee, Texas, the following day. CDS is a program within Brethren Disaster Ministries. Since 1980, its trained and certified volunteers have been meeting
Three organizations carrying out relief efforts in the Bahamas following Hurricane Dorian have received grants directed by Brethren Disaster Ministries from the Church of the Brethren’s Emergency Disaster Fund. The grants, each for $10,000, are going to the Church World Service (CWS) Development and Humanitarian Assistance Program, Feed the Children, and Mercy Chefs. The Brethren
Children’s Disaster Services (CDS), a program of Brethren Disaster Ministries, stood ready to assist where needed once Hurricane Dorian made its impact on the US. The American Red Cross requested CDS deploy two teams to provide childcare in evacuation centers in North Carolina prior to the hurricane’s arrival. Two additional teams were on stand-by for
Children’s Disaster Services (CDS) has begun a response to the tornadoes that devastated areas of Missouri and Iowa in recent days. CDS is a program of Brethren Disaster Ministries that since 1980 has been meeting the needs of children and families by setting up child care centers in shelters and disaster assistance centers. CDS volunteers are specially trained to respond to traumatized children by providing a calm, safe, and reassuring presence in the midst of the chaos created by disasters.
Brethren Disaster Ministries has directed two grants from the Emergency Disaster Fund (EDF) to support relief efforts in southern Africa following Cyclone Idai. The two grants are given to longterm partner organizations of the Church of the Brethren. A grant of $40,000 has been given to ACT Alliance, and a grant of $30,000 has been given jointly to IMA World Health and Lutheran World Relief.
Children’s Disaster Services (CDS) continues to aid children and families affected by the Camp Fire that destroyed the town of Paradise in northern California. Two new CDS teams are being deployed this week. A new team of four volunteers is traveling tomorrow to support a Red Cross “Family Support Center” in a different location from
