TEAR Fund Christian Action

TEAR Fund responds to refugees displaced by war

As the conflicts in Syria and Mali intensify, TEAR Fund is responding to the needs of millions of refugees and internally displaced people fleeing violence. TEAR Fund has launched appeals for both regions. TEAR Fund general manager Jon Horne said, the people are innocent victims caught between opposing forces they have no control over and have lost everything, including family members. “The impact of the high volumes of people moving both internally and to neighbouring countries, is putting massive pressures on very limited resources, and we have to respond now before this situation causes widespread hunger.”

Syria

TEAR Fund’s partners are helping some of the estimated 3,000 refugees a day who are crossing the borders into Syria’s neighbouring countries. During the two-year civil war, more than 60,000 people have lost their lives; the majority of them have been civilians. According to the UN, more than 728,000 Syrians have fled the country, and this figure will top one million in the next few months. TEAR Fund, through its Integral Alliance partners, are working in Damascus, Syria and in the Bekaa Valley region of Lebanon. The aim is to meet the immediate needs of families affected by the humanitarian crisis to maintain their health and well-being. “Right now, these people who have nothing are facing freezing conditions and hunger,” said Mr Horne. Funds raised by TEAR Fund, will help provide items such as food, bedding, shelter cooking utensils and counselling.

Mali

The people of Mali have had to deal with violence from a number of factions who are fighting for control over the country since a military coup in March 2012. As a result, the majority of people in the north of Mali have fled to the south of the country, putting limited resources under pressure. TEAR Fund’s partners are meeting the food, social and health needs of the displaced, many of whom are staying with host families. Jon Horne explains that, as household numbers have swelled food sources have come under pressure, and the potential of health outbreaks have increased. For the children, there is also a need for education. TEAR Fund’s partners will meet the needs of 24,700 of the most vulnerable. Just NZ$60 can provide this support for an individual for one year.

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Pacific Disaster Updates

TEAR Fund Monitoring disaster in the Solomons

TEAR Fund is assessing its response in the Solomon Islands after a magnitude 8.0 earthquake triggered a tidal surge which has killed five people and destroyed or damaged homes in several villages. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said the wave appeared to have travelled 500 metres inland, inundating Lata's airstrip as well as surrounding villages, flattening many traditional houses.

TEAR Fund Reaching Victims of Tropical Cyclone Evan in the Pacific

TEAR Fund’s partner in the Pacific has reached out to communities across Samoa and Fiji following Tropical Cyclone Evan which ripped through the Pacific in December. Our partner Ola Fou responded immediately providing emergency food, water and temporary shelter, cooking utensils and nappies. The focus now is on recovery. One of the biggest needs is getting the people back growing much-needed food as food crops were devastated by the cyclone. TEAR Fund is now supplying bedding, clothing, building materials such as iron for roofing and timber, as well as seedlings and farming equipment but more is required to meet the needs of the poorest.

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