TRACK OUR URGENT RESPONSE INITIATIVES

Keep tabs on our Greatest Need projects here! Support for our Greatest Need program enables us to react quickly when new needs arise on the ground. Donations to this program have made the projects below possible.

2022: EMERGENCY AID DISTRIBUTION IN TONGA

In response to the devastating volcanic eruption and tsunami that struck the small island nation of Tonga, we collected a container of aid asked for by our partner org on the ground in January 2022. This included sleeping bags, tarps, diapers, hand sanitizer, cleaning supplies, food, and water.

2021—PRESENT: AFGHAN REFUGEE CRISIS RESPONSE

After the US troop withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021, Afghan refugees who worked alongside our troops began the process of resettlement in the US. Military bases across the country became temporary homes to refugee families as they waited to be placed with resettlement agencies. LHI sent shipments of aid supplies to Fort Pickett in Virginia, providing basic necessities like shoes, underwear, clothing, and food for nearly 4,500 refugees housed there who came with little more than the clothing on their backs.

As part of the resettlement process, refugee apartments must be fully furnished before families move in. However, unless they are fortunate enough to have the long list of housing items donated, families must purchase plates, cups, furniture, and household supplies with their own limited funds. In partnership with with the International Rescue Committee and Catholic Community Services, LHI assists with Afghan refugee resettlement in Utah by setting up apartments for incoming families.

In Phoenix, AZ, LHI helped lead an advocacy campaign for greater housing support for Afghan refugees being resettled there. This initiative is still in progress with a goal of launching a Newcomer Community Center in 2022.

2020: COVID-19 RESPONSE

Millions of refugees live in crowded camps where social distancing is impossible and where there is little access to clean water and soap. Access to healthcare was limited to begin with, so COVID-19 prevention was paramount. In order to help refugees stay healthy and prevent the virus from running rampant in their camps, we launched the We Keep Going campaign in April 2020 to get hygiene supplies to camps around the world as quickly as possible.

In addition to our international hygiene aid distribution efforts, the team at our Refugee Center in Greece also focused on distributing hygiene aid to 1,200+ residents of the two nearby camps, despite having to shut down all in-person activities. To offer hope that healing programs at the Center would someday return, an amazing group of past and present LHI volunteers composed, arranged, performed, recorded, edited, and translated, an amazing video, Dance ‘Til We Win. Music and lyrics by LHI volunteer Roos Meijer.

2019: EMERGENCY AID DISTRIBUTION IN THE BAHAMAS

In the aftermath of category 5 hurricane Dorian in 2019, many people of the Bahamas were left devastated and without resources. Our supporters responded to our urgent call for donations and filled a container with critical aid supplies in a matter of days. Food, clothing, and medical disaster supplies were distributed to underdeveloped villages and victims of the hurricane.

2018: SOLAR LIGHTS FOR YAZIDI REFUGEES IN IRAQ

Yazidis are a peaceful religious and ethnic minority who have lived in the Sinjar region of Iraq for centuries. Everything came crumbling down in 2014 when ISIS invaded the Yazidi homeland, executing innocent victims, committing genocide, and kidnapping thousands of women and children for sex slavery.

Many of those who escaped live in rough refugee camps in northern Iraq. Most camps do not have electricity, leaving families in the dark once the sun goes down. One solar light provides light, safety, and the ability to cook after dark.

2017–2021: FOOD FOR REFUGEES IN CHIOS

The situation for refugees fleeing war and seeking sanctuary on the islands in the south of Greece is as bad as ever. Most of the camps on these islands, just off the Turkish coast, have long exceeded their capacity. Living conditions are dangerously poor and food rations are so inferior that food-borne illness is somewhat regular, and malnutrition common. Relatively few NGOs are operating in these locations. Those that do often face substantial local opposition. Lifting Hands International is grateful to have formed partnerships with local grassroots NGOs providing relief to the refugees in Southern Greece. One such organization is run by a local good samaritan and staffed by refugee chefs who work to provide hundreds of warm, nutritious, vegan meals to vulnerable refugee populations (orphans, single women, unaccompanied minors) on the island of Chios every day. They also regularly distribute food aid in bulk to the rest of the refugees on the island, along with donated clothing and bedding.

2017–2018: BANGLADESH HOT MEAL DISTRIBUTION

Refugees living in the world’s largest camp in Bangladesh face sever overcrowding and unthinkable living conditions. LHI formed a one-time partnership with a local org called Neezo’s Kitchen to distribute 50,000 hot meals during a time when food resources were scarce.