The following are selected highlights from among IOCC's projects.
HAITI
Aid provided to Haiti by IOCC is nearing $1.7 million and continues to flow into the country nearly one month after the disastrous earthquake struck. The distribution of aid supplies, which began arriving to Haiti within one week of the disaster, has directly served an estimated 75,000 people. Medicines, medical supplies, wheelchairs, tents, hygiene kits, shelter materials, fuel, food, blankets, jerry cans for water, water purifiers, mattresses and an ambulance have been shipped and distributed throughout Haiti. Many of the humanitarian relief supplies have been purchased in the Dominican Republic and Haiti in an effort to support the local economy. IOCC is also working to support the efforts of Orthodox partners in Haiti, where there are an estimated 3,000 Orthodox Christians. Food and hygiene items have been provided to 350 Orthodox faithful in six parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR).
HOLY LAND
Bassema, an IOCC staff member working in the West Bank, must often leave her home as early as 4:00 a.m. in order to negotiate the many checkpoints that she encounters on her way to the villages where IOCC is working. "I cannot say that we have broken down all the barriers that many families face here in the West Bank, but we have been able to break down some," she said, referring to IOCC's work in the Qalqilya region. Bassema's arduous journeys are indicative of the difficulties faced by hundreds of families who have been cut off from their farmlands and water sources by the West Bank Barrier. IOCC is assisting these families create house gardens and build water cisterns. Bassema's hard work is paying off and families in the region where IOCC is working can now provide up to 30% of their own food needs and meet all of their household water needs.
ETHIOPIA
IOCC is addressing sexual and gender-based violence against female refugees living in the capital of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Ethiopia is home to an estimated 120,000 refugees and asylum seekers representing 16 nationalities, including the Congo, Eritrea, Somalia and the Sudan. IOCC has provided workshops for 20 refugee women who are representatives of their communities to raise awareness regarding sexual and gender-based violence prevention and support. Also, 50 police officers in Addis Ababa were provided training on preventative measures, available assistance for victims, and applicable protective laws. IOCC and the Ethiopian Orthodox Church will also provide psychological counseling and medical support to victims, skills training for economic self-sustainability and public awareness raising activities. IOCC's program is made possible through a partnership with the Ethiopian Orthodox Church's Refugee Affairs Department and with funding from the U.S. Embassy Julia Taft Fund and the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration.
PHILIPPINES
IOCC recently delivered hygiene kits to assist over 3,000 survivors of Typhoons Ketsana and Parma, which struck the Philippines in late September. The subsequent floods and mudslides killed hundreds and an estimated 2.5 million people are either homeless or in need of emergency aid. This latest effort is part of IOCC's response to a series of natural disasters – multiple typhoons, earthquakes and a tsunami – that recently hit Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands. Whole communities have been destroyed with thousands killed or injured and millions left homeless in the wake of the destruction.
For information about other countries where people have been served through IOCC, please use the drop-down box:
