DISASTER RELIEF

Because of its excellent storage of provisions, organization and experience, the Church of Jesus Christ can react immediately to disasters all over the world. It gives humanitarian aid to people all over the world, regardless of religion, color or nationality. Humanitarian aid has reached 147 countries so far and amounts to tens of millions of dollars every year.

Some examples follow:

Water Projects in Africa

In the middle of the eighties, severe drought brought suffering to millions of people in Africa. In 1985, the Church held two special fast days, one on January 27th and the other on November 24th, and asked its members to make generous contributions for the humanitarian effort in Africa. That effort realized nearly 12 million Euros.

Hurricane Andrew

On August 24th 1992, the tropical storm "Andrew" hit southern Florida in the United States of America and caused so much damage that it was designated the worst natural disaster in the history of the USA. Damage was estimated at 30 billion dollars. The Church distributed a total of ten large container loads of food, water and emergency medical supplies. Members of the Church from all over the southern United States volunteered to help people re-roof their homes and make other necessary repairs – 1800 members on the first weekend after the storm, 5100 on the first weekend in September and a further 500 on the following weekend (amongst other things, 3000 houses, a Jewish synagogue and three churches of other Christian denominations were re-roofed).

Russia

Since 1989, the Church has implemented more than 110 humanitarian projects in Russia, to a total value far in excess of eighteen million Euros. The Russian government has expressed its gratitude and said that no organization has done more to relieve the suffering in Russia than The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Croatia, Bosnia, Herzegovina

Since 1989, these countries of the former Yugoslavia have received aid totaling in excess of six million Euros spread across 65 different aid projects.

Kosovo

The following projects have been undertaken for the Kosovo refugees. On April 30th 1999, a donation of 100,000 Euros on behalf of the 36,000 members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Germany was handed over to the German Red Cross in Bonn. 40,000 kilos of food were flown to Macedonia as immediate aid and distributed to refugee families there by the "Mercy Corps". Seven containers with 22,000 blankets and 76,000 kilograms of clothing were shipped with the help of the "Mercy Corps" and reached Macedonia between May 7th and 12th 1999. Further deliveries of aid and monetary donations are being prepared. In total, the Church has made aid to the value of 7.6 million dollars available to the Kosovo refugees.

Germany, Austria, The Czech Republic

Through its German aid organization "HLT Aktion Nothilfe" the Church donated more than 800,000 Euros in the summer of 2002 for the victims of the worst flooding for a hundred years. This money benefited affected families directly. The lion's share of the money went to East Germany.