Emergency Response Team
Earthquakes, conflict, floods and droughts devastate lives. But with you in our team, we can provide a fast emergency response.
Two mothers, holding their babies, wait for the mobile health unit, in one of the flood affected villages.
“The waves of death rose about me; the torrents of destruction assailed me.”
In today’s psalm, you can feel the terror of the person writing, as he faces death and destruction.
Last August, the people of the Pakistan were hit by record monsoon rains and flash flooding. More than 1,000 people were killed, with millions more displaced from their homes. Roads, crops, homes and bridges were all washed away, in a situation described by Pakistan’s climate change minister Sherry Rehman as “a climate-induced humanitarian disaster of epic proportions.”
Responding to the devastation, help was at hand. The local Pakistani organisation with whom CAFOD works in the area, Community World Service Asia (CWSA), was able to start relief efforts immediately, providing emergency medical assistance to vulnerable people affected by the floods. The generosity of CAFOD supporters meant we were able to commit £100,000 immediately to the emergency response, and your continued generosity will make it possible for us to support the people of Pakistan long-term with the help and training they need to rebuild their lives.
In his desperation, the psalmist calls out to God – his rock, his fortress, his shield and mighty help. God hears his voice and responds to his cry for help.
How can we be there for those facing death and destruction in our world today? How can we respond to the cries of those in need?
Lent prayer
God, our rock,
be a shelter for all those who suffer because of floods.
May we all work together
to protect our common home
Amen.
Act