This blog comes to us from Mercy Corps, our microfinance partner in Nepal. WPF has funded $929,000 in Nepal since 2008, creating 12,038 microloans for entrepreneurs in the Sankhubashabha, Terhthum and Udaypur districts.
Photo: Kirk Jackson/Team Rubicon
The past few weeks have been devastating for hundreds of thousands of families. In the United States, Hurricane Harvey brought destructive winds and unprecedented flooding to Texas and Louisiana, affecting millions of people. Hurricane Irma ripped through the Caribbean and into the southeast United States, leaving catastrophic damage in its wake. And in Nepal, flooding from the heaviest monsoon rains seen in 15 years have destroyed tens of thousands of homes and impacted 1.7 million men, women and children.
Photo: Mercy Corps
Mercy Corps is committed to empowering people around the world to survive through crisis, build better lives and transform their communities for good. With more storms on the horizon and months left in the hurricane season, we know that these seemingly isolated incidents are part of a much larger series of natural disasters that are increasing in frequency and scale. In the last two weeks, we have rushed our emergency responders to Texas to support local organizations responding in Houston, and also positioned our field team in Haiti to respond as extreme weather once again threatened families. In Nepal, in one of the most severely affected areas, we’ve distributed 200 bags of kits that include essential supplies such as tarps, blankets, utensils, solar lights, basic hygiene supplies, water purification tablets and water jars. And we are continuing our work responding to conflict-driven crises around the world from Syria to South Sudan.
Mercy Corps in Haiti. Photo: Ezra Millstein/Mercy Corps
Natural disasters can strike at any moment, and it’s critical that we be ready to respond. Mercy Corps’ Humanitarian Response Fund allows our teams to respond quickly to emergency situations – even before the news hits the headlines – when every single second matters, and countless lives are on the line. The actions we take in the first few days after a disaster can mean the difference between life and death for families in crisis, and our work is only possible because of our supporters. To support our emergency response efforts today, and to help us prepare and respond in the future, please consider making a gift to our Humanitarian Response Fund.
Mercy Corps helps people in devastated communities survive crisis, rebuild their homes and emerge stronger. We respond quickly to meet urgent needs and go beyond, identifying root causes and setting long-term recovery in motion, helping communities rebuild and better prepare for a sustainable future.
Comments 6
How are you helping people in America who have been devastated by Harvey and Irma? Why is Whole Foods anti American?
Our mission is poverty alleviation through microcredit, but many of our partner organizations fund relief efforts both in the United States and abroad, including Mercy Corps. In addition to the work Whole Planet Foundation does around the globe, we have funded microcredit in 17 U.S. cities, and have just authorized $1 million in funding to Houston to support women entrepreneurs in starting their own businesses after the devastation from Harvey and Irma.
I am interested in giving my time for this great cause but due to disasters I have lost most my finances. I am a trained chaplain with first responder training including triage
Whole Planet Foundation is not directly involved with disaster relief efforts at this time but we do applaud the efforts of our partners and try to help them reach more people with their message. I would advise you reach out directly to Mercy Corps. You can find more information about where they work and how to get involved at https://www.mercycorps.org/. Thank you for your interest!
I want to donate to the disaster relief in Nepal, the Caribbean and Mexico. How can I ear- mark the donation to be used this way? I already give annually to the foundation.
Hi Betty, thank you for your generosity. Whole Planet Foundation does not geo-target funds to specific regions, but many of our partners do. It may be best for you to look into organizations like Mercy Corps (https://www.mercycorps.org/) or the Red Cross (https://www.redcross.org/about-us/our-work/disaster-relief) if you would like to give directly to specific locations for disaster relief. Although our mission is limited to funding microcredit loans, we applaud and try to promote the work of our partners who work to rebuild during times of tragedy.