Mid-Year Impact Report

Gracias

Following the example set by the Good Samaritan, Samaritan's Purse provides help to people who are suffering and living in desperate circumstances. We seek them out in communities torn apart by tornadoes, on difficult migrant trails snaking through Colombia, in the dusty refugee camps of South Sudan, among impoverished residents of rural Cambodia at risk of human trafficking, and along frontiers where unreached people groups have never heard the Name of Jesus.

In the first few months of 2021, we have continued strengthening communities, responding to disasters at home and abroad, empowering churches, and sharing the Gospel. Led by God’s guidance and supported by partners like you, we've remained steadfast in obeying Christ's words in the parable of the Good Samaritan to "Go and do likewise."

Your generous giving and faithful prayers equipped us to provide for physical needs and minister to the souls of people worldwide. We pray that the following mid-year update encourages you and illustrates the impact of your giving.

COVID-19

Over a year and a half into the COVID-19 pandemic, our teams continue holding fast to Romans 15:13 (NASB) as a call to perseverance: "Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."

Samaritan’s Purse continues meeting a wide range of needs related to the virus and economic recovery. By offering practical aid through more than 310 COVID-19 projects in 48 countries since March of last year, our teams and local partners are motivated to promote the sustaining hope of the Gospel. It's through your generosity in the midst of a global pandemic that Samaritan's Purse is able to offer relief in Jesus' Name.

You helped treat patients suffering from the virus.

• In the Philippines, facilities and medical services are being offered to COVID-19 patients in need of a place to safely quarantine.
• Emergency field hospitals were deployed to Lenoir, North Carolina, and Lancaster, California, to operate as non-intensive care units for COVID-19 patients. Both locations supported local hospital systems, freeing up beds for patients with critical needs.

You provided supplies and education to help prevent the spread of infection.

• Our teams have educated over one million people worldwide in COVID-19 prevention measures, while more than 23,600 healthcare workers received specialized training in infection prevention protocols.
• Field offices continue distributing materials such as personal protective equipment, face masks, hand sanitizer, and hygiene kits to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

You empowered local churches to provide comfort in struggling communities.

• Churches in Cambodia have been unable to meet due to pandemic restrictions. Audio Bibles are being provided to encourage ongoing Scripture study from home.
• Our field office in Colombia is working alongside local churches to provide support to their communities. Church leaders are being equipped to provide counseling for people distressed and suffering because of the pandemic.

You equipped people to move forward through times of hardship.

• Worldwide, millions of people have lost their jobs as a result of the economic impact of the pandemic. Our field office in the Philippines is providing a livelihood program that offers technical skills training to adults and out-of-school youth to increase their work-readiness.
• Our field office in Liberia is scaling up agriculture livelihood development, focusing on how beneficiaries can have a reliable source of food and increase their income despite the pandemic.

Ayuda para desastres en EE. UU.

In the wake of devastation, Samaritan's Purse stands ready to provide assistance and minister to affected homeowners. Launched from ministry centers and churches across the country, our staff and relief vehicles deployed to 12 sites across seven states this year in Jesus' Name. More than 830 families have received help in their time of need, and over 70 people professed faith in Jesus Christ.

You responded to winter storms.

In northwest Oregon, trees and power lines were toppled by the heavy weight of an ice storm, leaving many families without power. Across Texas, a freak winter storm caused extensive power outages and flooding when frozen pipes burst. Samaritan's Purse volunteer teams in Salem, Austin, and Houston worked quickly to clear downed trees, remove damaged belongings, and tear out water-damaged drywall and insulation. All the while, they reminded homeowners that they are not forgotten and are loved by God.

Flooding.

In March, eastern Kentucky experienced the worst flooding the area had seen in decades, while the Harpeth River overflowed and caused extensive water damage in Nashville, Tennessee. Later in the spring, catastrophic flooding inundated Lake Charles, Louisiana, right as many homeowners were just finishing repairs from hurricanes Laura and Delta last year. Our volunteers cleaned out flooded houses in these affected communities, while providing encouragement to homeowners and ministering to their spiritual needs.

And tornadoes.

We deployed teams and Disaster Relief Units across the southeastern United States to help pick up the pieces after tornadoes ripped through communities. In March, orange-clad volunteers deployed to counties in Alabama and Georgia to assist homeowners along a 100-mile path of destruction. They removed storm debris and downed trees, tarped damaged roofs, and shared the hope of Jesus Christ.

Tigray Conflict Response

Life in northern Ethiopia was already strained with political tensions and food insecurity when conflict erupted in November 2020. Thousands were forced to scramble for safety, some traveling as far as 200 miles on foot to take refuge in whatever structure they could find.

Months later, food sources were dangerously low, if not depleted entirely. Conditions in makeshift shelters were poor and diseases were rampant. Medical care was also scarce, with the few open hospitals having very little medicine, no food, and a lack of psychosocial support. An estimated 4.5 million people—60 percent of the region's population—needed immediate relief but humanitarian organizations were having a difficult time reaching them.

You provided aid for families fleeing conflict.

Using our DC-8 aircraft, Samaritan’s Purse airlifted relief supplies to northern Ethiopia in February, followed by three more flights carrying enough emergency aid for over 44,000 people. Alongside local churches and the World Food Program, our teams have distributed emergency supplies and over 145,000 food baskets. Mobile medical units were deployed, providing treatment to 7,956 people so far, and over 1,100 temporary shelters for internally displaced people have been constructed with locally-procured materials.

Children are truly the most vulnerable among the displaced. Families with young children were given a month's worth of nutritious supplements designed to treat acute malnutrition. Over 18,600 children and pregnant mothers have been screened for malnutrition and 75,000 one-month nutritional supplements packages have been distributed.

In the midst of instability and crisis, Samaritan's Purse has been blessed with the capacity to demonstrate the constant, sustaining love of Christ to thousands of suffering people. "We're grateful to be here to support people practically but also spiritually to show them the love and hope of Jesus during this time," said Paul Carr, a member of our Disaster Assistance Response Team in Ethiopia.

Bahamas

When Hurricane Dorian first hit the Abaco Islands, Al Sawyer, his wife, and their three children sheltered at Central Abaco Primary School. A few weeks later, Al returned to their ravaged home to try and rebuild while the rest of the family evacuated to Nassau with other local residents. When a car bearing the name "Samaritan's Purse" arrived to conduct an assessment on behalf of our home repair program, Al began to cry tears of joy.

Prior to the storm, Al was not attending a local church. He heard about the repair program through friends and contacted a local pastor, who submitted the Sawyers’ need for assistance to Samaritan’s Purse. The rebuild program became not only a way to meet the material need of repairing the Sawyers’ home, but also an evangelistic opportunity for the church to reach another family in need of assistance.

On May 28, 2020, Mrs. Sawyer and the children came back to Abaco for the first time since the storm. Even with debris and destruction surrounding their partially-restored home, they were grateful to be together as a family and to have a new, safe roof for protection. "With this roof you get a sense of moving forward; you feel that something is actually happening," Al said. "You can start putting your life together again. We feel so happy and so grateful."

You helped us complete our home and church rebuild program in the Bahamas.

In March, we completed work on Grand Bahama and Abaco, where thousands of families affected by Hurricane Dorian are now on the road to full recovery. From repairing damaged sanctuaries and homes to training churches in disaster relief and providing clean water, Bahamians experienced the love of Christ in action as our teams worked alongside local churches. From late 2019 to March 2021, we helped restore 31 churches and 775 homes.

Global Work

This year, your generosity enabled us to meet physical needs of impoverished and suffering people and created opportunities to minister spiritually.

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You helped refugees, migrants, and displaced people in their time of need.

• Right now, 5.8 million people in South Sudan—over half the population—do not have a reliable source of food. Samaritan's Purse is distributing food rations to hundreds of thousands of hungry people in three counties and two refugee camps, as well as providing therapeutic food to acutely malnourished children.
• In Colombia, Samaritan's Purse is established along Venezuelan migrant routes, providing shelter, hygiene and sanitation facilities, hot meals, supplies, legal information, protection education services, and more. This year, we’re also feeding hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan migrants in Colombia. "We're sharing God's love by providing them with the food baskets and also sharing the hope they can find in Jesus Christ," said Eric Huxley, Colombia country director for Samaritan's Purse. "It's a complete work."

You provided care for the sick and injured.

• Last fall, a mobile medical unit was launched in South Sudan to provide primary health care for underserved communities. On average, the medical team treats 400–500 patients each week. This April, we deployed a second medical unit that doubles our capacity to treat the sick and injured.
• You helped us support 32 Christian physicians serving in mission hospitals worldwide through our World Medical Mission program.

You equipped impoverished families to thrive.

• In South America, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, impoverished families are receiving tools and training to adequately feed themselves and increase their income. In Iraq, we've equipped and trained 42 beekeepers in the last few months to help them thrive after returning home from years in displacement.
• Having access to clean water enables families and domesticated animals to flourish, allowing parents to stay and work rather than migrate unsafely. We've constructed or rehabilitated 350 water points in places like Cambodia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and South Sudan, allowing tens of thousands of people to collect clean water.

You started building a church and a medical facility.

• In March, construction began on a new church building in Bolivia to accommodate a growing congregation. Our teams are helping build the new sanctuary to encourage the church body and further empower them to reach their community for Christ.
• Construction is also currently underway on the new Tenwek Cardiothoracic Center in Kenya, a 295,000 square-foot, 125-bed facility that will accommodate approximately 2,000 operations each year. "The impact of this cardiothoracic ward will be unprecedented," says World Medical Mission Director Dr. Lance Plyler. We anticipate that the cardiothoracic center will be operational in 2023.

You helped fulfill the Great Commission.

• Our volunteer teams in countries around the world are distributing the 9,113,853 Operation Christmas Child shoebox gifts collected in November 2020. These special gifts show children they are known and loved by God, and create opportunities for the Gospel to be shared in villages and cities on almost every continent. The Greatest Journey follow-up program disciples children and equips them to share the Gospel with friends and family.
• Samaritan's Purse partners with church congregations through our various projects and disaster responses. Local churches are being empowered to meet needs in their communities, church leaders are gaining access to biblical training, and new churches are being planted—some among unreached people groups.
• This year, a new project in Haiti is equipping, mobilizing, and unifying churches to respond in the wake of natural disasters. Through this initiative, 100 leaders from 50 churches are learning what it means to care for a community spiritually, physically, and emotionally in times of crisis, while sharing the hope of the Gospel.

On behalf of all our staff and volunteers serving with Samaritan's Purse worldwide, we thank you for your partnership in ministry.