Emergency relief

Abruptly emerging crisis situations such as earthquakes, floods, famines, and wars demand quick assistance for the people concerned. With proven structures and existing contacts, SOS Children is well equipped to handle such crisis situations.

Thanks to local knowledge and experience, SOS Children staff can provide the most needed supplies very rapidly and at short notice children can be accommodated in SOS Children’s Villages or specially adapted premises.

SOS Children emergency relief programmes are mainly aimed at:

• Children in danger of dying from starvation or suffering from serious disease
• Children traumatised by dislocation and abandonment
• Child victims of war
• Families whose homes have been destroyed
• Communities whose infrastructure has been compromised.
  

Our Children’s Villages are approved by the local governments so we are often given immediate authority for the care of unaccompanied children. For example, after the 2005 Kashmir earthquake we were named custodians of all unaccompanied children by the Pakistani government.

Our outreach work in the community also ensures we have access to local networks.

In 2010 alone, ten SOS Emergency Relief programmes benefited more than 129,700 children and families:

• We provided food every day for up to 24,000 children following the earthquake in Haiti
• We distributed more than 20,000 relief packages containing food, medication and tents, to families affected by flooding in Pakistan
• We provided food and medical treatment of conditions caused by malnourishment to 10,000 vulnerable people following famine in Niger
• We provided 500 people with mosquito nets and medical supplies after floods in Benin.

Visit our Emergency Appeal site

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To find out more

To find out more, get in contact by emailing press@soschildren.org or calling 01223 365 589.