Emergency Response

“You have to seize opportunity. Thanks to Africare for giving me one!”

Fiston Mukendi,
Kinshasa, Democratic Republic Of Congo

On the African continent, the need for emergency relief assistance arises with tragic frequency. Crises are caused by natural disasters like drought or flooding, disease epidemics, civil strife and political upheaval; but whatever their causes, they beget the incalculable suffering of thousands upon thousands of innocent people.

  • Africa has 10% of the world’s population – but about 25% (17 million) of the world’s refugees and internally displaced persons.

Leaving their countries, fleeing a definite problem but with no concrete future, refugees depend utterly on the resources of their places of refuge, at least initially, because they have usually left their survival tools being them. Countries receiving refugees are almost inevitably traumatized by the heavy burden of their new responsibilities.

Africare was founded in the midst of a crisis-- the prolonged drought in the Sahel in the 1970s. Since its inception, Africare has worked on the front lines of almost every humanitarian emergency in Africa, providing relief to at least 1 million Africans driven from their homes as a result of natural disasters or civil wars.

         

Africare provides immediate needs such as water, shelter, food and emergency health care, but Africare’s priority always has been long-term development and sustainability, which is the only way to improve the quality of life overall and the best way to avert future crises or vulnerability. Africare provides victims with the knowledge and skills they need to rebuild their lives, their homes and their communities. It facilitates training and education, provides grants for developing organizations, and supports the establishment of essential infrastructure such as schools, health centers, water supply systems, housing and local markets managed by the refugees themselves.

  • Africare and UNHCR tackle a humanitarian crisis in Niger Read more