World Humanitarian Day: Responding to emergencies on your behalf

Emergency situations see people facing the most extreme challenges. They can lose their homes, their loved ones, their livelihoods, as well as their source of food, clean water and access to healthcare.  

Large-scale emergencies can happen at any time. Disasters such as storms, earthquakes, tsunamis and cyclones can devastate huge areas within hours. All donations we receive mean we can support local experts and communities to respond to the emergency.  

During the powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria earlier this year, we worked with local organisations and volunteers who themselves have been affected, often losing all of their possessions, livelihoods and loved ones.

An aid worker in Turkey

As well as larger emergencies, we are responding throughout the year to emergency situations which never make the headlines, be it smaller-scale flooding, drought or political unrest endangering the lives of civilians which often causes mass displacement.  

Democratic Republic of Congo has seen hundreds of thousands of people fleeing their homes in search of safety due to conflict.

People have been sheltering in overcrowded makeshift camps, schools and churches, many of which are overcrowded and are not built to withstand bad weather. Families have lost their normal source of income leading to hunger and malnutrition, and the lack of clean water threatens a cholera epidemic in the camps and the overburdened communities sheltering those who have fled.  

CAFOD has been working with local experts to provide life-saving support to displaced families including food and water baskets, blankets and mats used for sleeping. Thanks to donations from our supporters, we are also able to respond to silent emergencies like this one that don’t make the news.

Olivia, Emergency Response Team Goma

By working with local experts on the ground, we know what people need as soon as a disaster strikes. We work wherever the need is greatest, with people of all faiths and none, regardless of gender, orientation, culture, nationality, or ethnicity. 

Record monsoon rains and flash flooding across Pakistan has killed at least 1,100 people so far, affected over 30 million people and left millions homeless.  

Thanks to donations from supporters, CAFOD was able to immediately provide £100,000 of funding to the initial crisis response, enabling our partner - Community World Service Asia (CWSA) - to respond immediately providing health services in affected areas.

Shama Mall, Deputy Regional Director at Community World Service Asia (CWSA)

Whether it is for emergency responses or for our long-term development programmes, your support is enabling change. Around the world, we are seeing increasing numbers of people in need of assistance. Some may need urgent supplies after an emergency, while others may need support or advice to become more resilient and independent.  

Colombia is a country with one of the longest-running internal armed conflict, which has led to over 6 million internally displaced people. CAFOD has been facilitating workshops with local partners in Colombia, and the communities and organisations they work, supporting them to become more resilient and better equipped in case of emergencies by developing emergency preparedness plans.

Claudia Patricia Palacios Barra, coordinator for regional women’s organisation Ruta Pacifica [Path for Peace]