In the aftermath of Hurricane Ike, millions are struggling to recover, many without electricity or even homes. World Vision is working hard to provide relief to affected families.

September 2008

Tens of thousands are displaced, with an estimated 37,000 stranded in shelters. Days after Ike slammed into the Texas coast, families continue to seek refuge at shelters.

World Vision staff members brought emergency relief supplies from our Dallas warehouse to the hardest-hit areas around Houston, where displaced residents are in critical need.

Relief supplies are also being delivered to other areas of Texas and southwestern Louisiana. Our first truck loaded with emergency supplies rolled out of our warehouse in Dallas as soon as the storm ended. On Sept. 17, our assessment team navigated through flooded roads and downed electrical lines to reach Port Arthur, a community still recovering from Hurricane Rita in 2005.

Response on target

"Despite the tough travel conditions, our distribution of emergency supplies is going rapidly: three pallets were distributed in a matter of hours," said Phyllis Freeman, World Vision's director of disaster field operations. "The situation is worsening, and while much of Port Arthur was evacuated and is shut down, children and families still remain. They are our priority."

Volunteers from local churches and the community gathered last week at our Dallas facilities to pack more than 1,000 hygiene kits using supplies from Cardinal Health. We are delivering and distributing items such as toothpaste and toothbrushes, children's books and toys, and cleaning supplies. Lagasse/Sweet, a household products company and World Vision corporate partner, is contributing cleaning supplies.

Partnerships critical

"Churches and community partners are essential to our relief efforts," says John Pettit, World Vision's national director for disaster response. "They provide the presence and continuity we need to engage in long-term recovery work. Through our local churches and community partners, we reach the less fortunate, to help prevent them from falling through the cracks." This partnership network was created after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Because of our local presence, World Vision will be part of the relief efforts for the long term. Once initial needs are met and assessment of the damage is completed, World Vision will initiate clean-up and long-term recovery plans with the help of local churches and other community partners.

Additional supplies are being delivered to World Vision facilities in Dallas and Picayune, Miss., in support of the relief effort. Supplies are also being readied in Denver, Los Angeles, Chicago, Seattle and other locations where the organization has domestic operations.