CALGARY,
AB, July 3, 2024 /CNW/ - The Samaritan's
Purse DC-8 departed our hangar in Greensboro, North Carolina, yesterday morning,
with a 13-member Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) and 24
tons of life-saving relief for hurricane-devastated residents of
Grenada in the south Caribbean's Windward Islands.
Less than 24 hours after the hurricane made landfall, the
Samaritan's Purse DC-8 cargo plane departed Greensboro, NC. with 600 rolls of tarp, 3,000
solar lights, a desalination water unit, 300 collapsible jerry
cans, and a mobile medical unit. In addition to these emergency
relief supplies, the cargo plane also transported 13 disaster
response specialists to Grenada.
This rapid deployment and mobilization of humanitarian aid and
resources is aimed at providing critical support to the island
communities and families anticipated to be the most affected by the
storm. Most importantly, Samaritan's Purse, including five Canadian
Disaster Response Team members are deploying to bring help and the
hope of Jesus Christ to families who
are grappling with severe loss in the aftermath of the storm.
"Hurricane Beryl pummeled the Windward Islands, and left
thousands of families in need of emergency relief,
" said Franklin
Graham, president of Samaritan's Purse. "We
started building out pallets of cargo before the hurricane even
made landfall and are now on the way with life-saving aid. Please
join me in praying for the families who are in the path of this
storm, and for our Samaritan's Purse staff who will be serving
them."
Hurricane Beryl, which made landfall in Grenada as a Category 4 hurricane—the earliest
on record—quickly grew in strength to a Category 5, bringing
devastating floods, high-wind damage, and power outages to the
Windward Islands. Samaritan's Purse is preparing to distribute
emergency shelter material and set up water filtration systems in
areas that have been heavily damaged and are now without access to
clean water. The organization is coordinating with church partners
in the area that Samaritan's Purse has worked with through its
project Operation Christmas Child.
About Samaritan's Purse
Samaritan's Purse is a Christian relief and development
organization that takes its name from Jesus
Christ's biblical story of the Good Samaritan. Like that
Good Samaritan, who found a beaten man and helped restore him, we
aid victims of war, disease, disaster, poverty, famine, and
persecution. Besides disaster relief, our work includes Operation
Christmas Child and providing safe water, vocational skills, and
agricultural supplies and training to families in the developing
world. Visit SamaritansPurse.ca for more information.
SOURCE Samaritan's Purse Canada