More 4 Me is Lincoln Fenner’s engaging documentary that opens audiences’ eyes to their part in  the world. Screening at the Australian Film Festival on Friday 9th March 2012 at 7pm.

Trailer:  http://www.more4memovie.com/

Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/More-4-Me/73240815102

Get tickets online at http://bit.ly/xR2X9X

Update – 3rd April 2012

The people of flood stricken Fiji are now facing further hardship from the effects of Tropical Cyclone Daphne. Around 7000 people are still housed in 60 evacuation centres from the January floods and this number is likely to rise with the impact of the cyclone

Donate Today Your support will help bring critical life-saving aid and relief to children and families in Fiji.

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Torrential rain for the last few days has already brought loss of life and severe damage to infrastructure, homes, crops, motor vehicles, animals, shops and schools. People who were gradually recovering from the January floods have once again lost nearly everything.

From Sigatoka through to Rakiraki all towns and surrounding low line communities are under water except for Lautoka city. Right now there is no access to roads, even main roads because of the flooding. The floods are the worst ever seen by those living in these communities.

Samaritan’s Purse will be working in communities surrounding Lautoka that are severely affected by flood and debris.

The immediate need is for basic food items, clean drinking water, clothes, shelters, educational materials for kids, some house and kitchen utensils and medical treatment.

Donate Today Your support will help bring critical life-saving aid and relief to children and families in Fiji.

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Over the medium term the need will be for counselling, housing, property cleaning, medical treatments and disaster awareness training.

Please partner with us in bringing critical life-saving aid and relief to children and families affected.

Donations in excess of what is needed to assist victims of the Fiji floods, will be assigned exclusively to bringing aid and relief to victims of disasters.

Update – 16th February 2012

A state of disaster was declared in several areas on Fiji’s largest island of Viti Levu, after floods ravaged the area from January 22. The floodwaters are now receding, leaving a trail of devastation. Communities have been left with no clean water or power supply, crops have been washed away, homes, shops and roads damaged. Several people have died, thousands evacuated or cut off and more than 50 people have contracted water-borne disease. At the time of writing Samaritan’s Purse supporters have given $26,349 AUD of the $30,049 needed to bring critical life-saving aid and relief to children and families affected by the floods. And a huge thank you to everyone who recommended the link to their Facebook networks!

Situation Report – 27th January 2012

All of our Operation Christmas Child State Managers and the National Manager for Australia and New Zealand were in Fiji for Shoe Box distributions, when their work was interrupted by flooding which began on Sunday claiming six lives to date and causing hundreds to evacuate. The Operation Christmas Child National Leadership Team of Senior Fijian Church Ministers helped our team assess the most urgent needs and determine our response.

ABC’s Asia Pacific News service reports that 1500 people have now taken refuge in evacuation centres. Many more people are unable to reach the evacuation centres in the western district towns. In the hardest hit villages of Naviago, Vitogo and Drasa, the homes of 75 isolated, rural, poor families (525 people), have been completely or partially flooded. These 3 villages are currently inaccessible by road and have not yet received any aid or assistance. Last night 17 families were stranded on the roof of their houses. The immediate needs of the 75 families are for food rations and essential non-food items.

Nadi weather office is forecasting heavy rain to continue until Monday 30th. The Fijian Government would welcome the support of Samaritan’s Purse.

On several occasions last year our supporters gave generously to provide relief to victims of disasters in areas including Queensland, New Zealand, Japan, the Horn of Africa… and all these funds have been distributed. So as you give to the Fijian Flood crisis, please give some thought to the need that we have, for a pool of designated disaster relief funds that will enable us to give immediate help to people in crisis, without having to wait for the funds to come in.

Thank you for your generous support.

Donate Today Your support will help bring critical life-saving aid and relief to children and families affected.

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Give Now

Your gift today will provide life-changing clean water thousands in villages like Seh and Tan’s

Fifteen-year-old Seh and his friends found an abandoned warhead near their village. Not realising what it was, they thought it would be fun to play with.

When it tragically exploded Seh was nearly blinded and lost both of his arms.

Seh is now married with five children but his handicaps cause hardship and poverty for his family. Since he can’t work, he and his family are dependant on his wife, Tan. Her only option is to go and work across the border in Thailand, returning for a visit every three months to bring money to her family.

Seh’s children have often been sick with diarrhoea and stomach aches caused by dirty water. Life was a constant struggle because they had no money for medicine.

In March 2011 Samaritan’s Purse brought clean water to Seh and Tan’s village. Thanks to your generosity, Seh and Tan now have their own BioSand Water Filter (BSF). They drink and cook with clean water and are very happy that diarrhoea is no longer a problem for them and their children.

Your support is life-changing for Seh and his family – without you, this wouldn’t be possible.

Give Now

The power of your simple gift will help hundreds of thousands of children overseas just like Tran Xuan Hoa Donations of $2 or more are tax deductible for Australian Residents.

Looking back now, Tran Xuan Hoa is amazed that a small shoe box could have transformed his life forever. That’s because, 15 years ago, Hoa was a sad kid with very little hope, living alone on the streets of Hanoi, Vietnam. His family never had enough money and there was no future for him in the remote mountain village where he grew up.

“At age eleven, I dropped out of school after finishing grade five, due to extreme poverty and having to walk nine kilometers to school every day,” he remembers. “It seemed that I would never have any dream for the future.” Because of their desperate situation, Hoa’s parents let him go to Hanoi, hoping he could find work, never imagining he would end up a street kid. Aimless and alone, Hoa heard about the shelters run by Samaritan’s Purse.

And, thanks to the support of friends like you, he was able to find a new home with other street children where he was safe and cared for. Two months later, Hoa became one of the first children in Vietnam to receive a Samaritan’s Purse Operation Christmas Child shoe box. His eyes opened wide as he pulled out the flute that was packed inside. Who would have guessed that he knew how to play a flute? “The shoe box was small, but its power changed my life forever,” he smiles.

When Hoa opened his Operation Christmas Child shoe box, he opened up so much more than a box full of gifts. His shoe box opened up more opportunities through Samaritan’s Purse for Hoa and his brothers to finish school and, putting their education to use, support their family.

Hoa now serves as a Project Officer with Samaritan’s Purse Vietnam where he oversees the northern mountain region where he was born! He is married to Huyen and they have a two-year-old son called Noah.

As a child, Hoa didn’t dare to dream. But now, thanks to friends like you, he is giving hope to other impoverished kids… And it all started with an Operation Christmas Child shoe box, given to a wide-eyed mountain child.

1. In what ways have the communities in Cambodia been impacted by the recent floods?

   The 2011 floods in Cambodia devastated the lives of people. The water stayed in the communities for over two months inundating houses, roads and agricultural land. Normal life was disrupted. Children could not go to school. The livelihoods of the rural population were severely affected with many families having lost their livestock. Paddy fields were flooded and hence there was no harvest. In these situations, people often borrow money and can become heavily indebted to money lenders. It can take families many years to repay these debts.

2. What has Samaritan’s Purse’s initial response been?

   Samaritan’s Purse has helped 300 families with food supplies (dry ration) as an immediate response. The needs are overwhelming and the World Food Program has plans to provide dry ration for the people for the next 3 to 6 months.

3. What are the long term objectives?

   There are 3 key recovery areas we can assist in:

   • Recovery of livelihoods of the affected population; e.g. agriculture – piglets, fisheries, poultry, kitchen gardens.
   • Renovation of schools and child friendly spaces.
   • Providing clothes for children, bedspreads, mats, hygiene kits and utensils.
4. How can people get involved?
   • Pray for the affected families and for Samaritan’s Purse field workers who have to work in difficult and sometimes dangerous conditions.
   • Give to provide affected families with critical relief during the short to medium term recovery period.

Over 84 families in poverty lived in the village but there was no school in the area. Many children were unable to attend school because of the high cost of bus fares to the nearest school. A family with 2 children would pay around FJD$48 a month in bus fares leaving them FJD$12 or less a month to live on.

After the Operation Christmas Child shoe box distribution, a conversation with the village secretary revealed the need. A school is now under construction for the children in the HART village at Wainibuku.