One of the motivating factors for the creation of PWRDF, back in 1959, was “emergency preparedness”… not in the sense of ensuring there are batteries in your flashlight, but in the sense that, when emergencies happen we are poised to respond immediately, because we have funds on hand. In emergency situations there is an immediate need for food, water, clothing, shelter, and medical supplies. That is why your monthly donations to PWRDF are so very important.
As you know, PWRDF always works with partners, here in Canada and abroad, to respond to the immediate, and longer term, needs created by these events. Here is one example:
On February 7th, 2023, one day after the 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Turkey and Syria, PWRDF allocated $35,000 to our partner, ACT Alliance, to support the emergency response of its members working in the area:
ACT Alliance member, the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East-Department of Ecumenical Relations and Development (GOPA-DERD) is providing food, blankets, mattresses and medical aid in affected communities.
PWRDF partner, the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) is working with partners to assess the safety of building structures, prioritize housing and repair needs, distribute food and non-food items to existing shelters and look for ways of getting cash assistance to people.
An additional $5,000 was allocated to the Diocese of Jerusalem to provide food, water, clothing and medical supplies to those affected by the earthquake in northern Syria.\
In addition to using “funds on hand” for immediate response, when the disaster is of the scale of this recent earthquake, there is usually an appeal, providing us with a vehicle to support those impacted by the catastrophic event. In this case, PWRDF participated in the Humanitarian Coalition (HC) appeal, as a member of the Canadian Foodgrains Bank. On February 24th, the Government of Canada announced that donations made to the HC and its members, between February 6th and 22nd, would be matched up to $10 million. At time of writing, late-March, the HC appeal raised more than $12 million! Your donations to the PWRDF for this appeal have reached $143,000.
The death toll from this earthquake has topped 56,000; an additional 107,000 people were injured; and 2.2 million people were displaced. The need continues to be incredible and PWRDF continues to accept donations from people wanting to help. Please continue to pray for those affected by this devastating earthquake. If you would like to donate you may do so online, or over the phone by calling 416-822-9083 (or leave a message toll-free at 1-866-308-7973 and they will return your call.) You can also donate by mail. Send your cheque to PWRDF, 80 Hayden Street, 3rd Floor, Toronto, ON, Canada, M4Y 3G2. Please indicate Syrian Earthquake in the memo field.
