Ongoing Earthquake Relief Work in Zhaotong, Yunnan

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Four weeks has passed since the 6.5-magnitude earthquake hit Ludian County in Zhaotong, Yunnan, but many of the victims are still living their lives in the shelters. The post-earthquake rehabilitation is still a long way to complete.

Continue reading Ongoing Earthquake Relief Work in Zhaotong, Yunnan

Iraq Crisis Appeal: Join Hands to Bring Hope to Iraq Displaced People

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Since the start of 2014 more than 1.4 million Iraqis have left their homes because of fighting. Some 850,000 people, more than half of the total number, have been made homeless in the last two months. In parts of Iraq minority groups, like Yazidis and Christians, are under threat of forced conversion, fines and even death.

Continue reading Iraq Crisis Appeal: Join Hands to Bring Hope to Iraq Displaced People

Please Continue to Support Yunnan Zhaotong Quake Relief Work

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The 6.5-magnitude earthquake that happened on 3rd August 2014 had a hypocenter at 12 thousand meters and followed by over 1,335 aftershocks. This earthquake has already led to 617 deaths, 112 people missing, 3,143 people injured, 80 thousand houses destroyed, and 1.08 million people affected.

Ludian County, one of China’s state-level poverty-stricken counties, lacks the capacity to build earthquake-resistant buildings due to the poor economic conditions. To make things worse, the quake happened in the middle of rainy season with an epicenter located in mountainous terrain, causing serious landslides, mudslides and landslide dam, thus lifting the severity of the disaster.

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Entering the town, you can see ruins and temporary settlements everywhere
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Most people residing there are Huis (Muslims). All victims in Longtou Town are sharing food prepared by the communal kitchen.

One week after the disaster, CEDAR staff and Yunnan Christian Council representatives entered the severely affected area of Longtoushan Town to conduct on-site assessment. The area is highly inaccessible and inhabitants of remote mountainous areas have not yet received any relief supplies from the government. With frequent aftershocks and amidst rainy season, quake victims are facing severe adversity with an immediate need for food and oil.

Moreover, the 47 prospective university students from the severely affected areas of Ludian County are facing additional uncertainties as September approaches. The earthquake has affected the families of this group of students on multiple levels, and some families are even seriously injured.

Disaster Relief Plan:

  • To provide 2-month of food supplies, mainly rice and cooking oil to 130 households in Dapingzi Hamlet, a part of Yanhe Village in Longtoushan Town, Ludian County, to safeguard the basic needs of the victims.
  • To offer Emergency Assistance funding for the prospective university students from the disaster areas, to support their livelihood fee and traveling expenses.

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Ms. Tan Ping is one of the prospective university students who receives funding support. She is standing in front of her home that has been destroyed by the earthquake. Zhaotong church will continue to follow up and visit the families of these students to show continuous care and offer support.

Emergency and Relief Donation

Please make cheque payable to ‘CEDAR FUND’

(Please mark “Yunnan Zhaotong Earthquake Relief”)

[1] CEDAR is an approved charitable institutions and trusts of a public character under section 88 of the Inland Revenue Ordinance. Please click Inland Revenue Department website to check for details.
[2] Donations over $100 are tax deductible in Hong Kong with our receipts.
[3] Please DO NOT fax any donation information.

Contact Method

Tel>23819627
Fax>23922777
Email>sharing@cedarfund.org
Add>G.P.O. Box 3212 Hong Kong

CEDAR’s Relief and Rehabilitation Work in Past: http://eng.cedarfund.org/relief/
CEDAR Approach on Relief and Rehabilitation: http://eng.cedarfund.org/relief-approach/

The Letter from CEDAR | August 2014

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Dear Brothers and Sisters,

In 1814, Napoleon lost and Paris fell; in 1914, World War I started; it’s now 2014 and humans still have yet to learn from history. There are people being plunged into an abyss of misery and our land is beset by war. From the news and messages circulating on online communication media, people are extremely concerned about the brutalities of ISIS, an extremist Islamic organisation in Iraq. Children and civilians are killed or forced to leave their home in great fear. The world has no idea how to bring this to an end.

Continue reading The Letter from CEDAR | August 2014

In Iraq, Women of Religious Minorities are being Abused, Shiite City is Besieged

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About 45 IDPs are now living in this open-fronted, half-built hotel building in the semi-autonomous Kurdish region of Iraq.

Highlights of the Updates in Iraq

  • Over 55,000 IDPs are reported to have crossed into Syria from Sinjar District, including many who were trapped on Sinjar Mountain. Most made their way back into Iraq through the Pesh Khabour checkpoint in the Kurdistan Region.
  • Over 200,000 IDPs have entered Dahuk Governorate (Kurdistan Region) and are occupying schools, churches, mosques and unfinished buildings. Schools may not reopen on 10 September as scheduled, affecting over 850,000 children (Syrian refugees, Iraqi IDPs, Kurdish host community children).
  • A water plant in eastern Mosul was partially destroyed by an airstrike, leaving large parts of the city without access to water. Food shortages are reportedly already occurring in Mosul as well. Millions of Iraqis may become severely food insecure later this year if these challenges are not resolved.
  • The sub-district of Amirli, in Tooz district of Salah al-Din Governorate, has been surrounded by ISIS forces and completely inaccessible by road. An estimated 15,000 to 20,000 people reportedly remain inside Amirli, primarily Turkmen Shiites. The humanitarian situation there is said to be deteriorating quickly.
  • There is mounting evidence that women belonging to the Yazidi and Christian religious minorities in Iraq are being raped and sold into slavery by the Islamic State (ISIS). One of the first to speak out was Vian Dakheel, the only Yazidi female MP, who addressed the Iraqi parliament in early August.

[Source: ReliefWeb(1), ReliefWeb(2), the Guardian]

Let’s Pray

  • Ask God to stop the hand of those set on violence, bloodshed and intimidation in Iraq. Pray for the establishment of a lasting peace that all people groups will be accepted and protected.
  • Pray for God’s protection to the minority ethnic and religious groups, especially the vulnerable children, women and elderly. Pray that those who are being raped and sold as slaves will be rescued soon.
  • Pray for all those who have fled their homes and are living in fear and uncertainty. Ask God to keep them safe, provide for their needs and pour out His comfort and healing on all who are grieving.
  • Thank God that tens of thousands of Iraqis were able to escape from Mount Sinjar, and pray for protection, provision and a rapid rescue for those who are still trapped.
  • Lift up leaders in Iraq and around the world, praying that God will give them wisdom as they seek a solution to the crisis.

Iraq Is at the Highest Level of Humanitarian Crisis

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The Baharka camp, 5km north of Erbil in northern Iraq, is home to thousands of internally displaced people (IDPs) following the takeover of large swathes of the country by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS).

Updates on Iraq Crisis

  • The United Nations have declared a ‘Level 3 Emergency’, the highest level of humanitarian crisis, for Iraq. Three other crises in the world are currently sharing the same emergency status: Syria, South Sudan and the Central African Republic.
  • The situation of displaced people on Sinjar Mountain remains of critical concern, in addition to helping meet the needs of a further 12,000 displaced Christians who are now sheltering in the Kurdish capital, Erbil.
  • The Newroz camp in Syria currently hosts about 15,000 Yazidis from Iraq. After a few days at the camp, many refugees head back to Iraq to reunite with families in the Dohuk area of northern Kurdistan, but still thousands continue to come.
  • Many refugee families have been separated, scattered between Sinjar, Syria and the Kurdistan region of Iraq; children have been torn from their parents — killed, kidnapped or disappeared in the chaos. Many refugees report they had to leave behind their elderly whom they could not carry. Others who made it safely to the camp gave reports of young girls and women forced to stay behind and being sold. Families say that their young men were killed.

In the past few days, various UN Agencies have responded as follows:

  • UNCHR> providing shelter and relief items
  • WFP> providing meals
  • UNICEF> providing support to displaced children
  • WHO> providing emergency health care
  • UNFPA> distributing hygiene supplies, clothing and medical supplies
  • IOM> transporting IDPs from affected areas to agreed safe areas, distributing non-food Item kits

 

[Source: ReliefWeb(1), ReliefWeb(2)]

 

*Integral Alliance (IA), a global alliance comprising of 19 Christian relief and development agencies, is now providing disaster responses to humanitarian crisis in Syria, South Sudan and the Central African Republic, and is closely monitoring the crisis in Iraq. CEDAR is one of the member agencies of Integral Alliance.