Leaving doesn’t mean the stories you’ve lived leave you. “We would play with our friends and then we would go inside and study,” one boy said. “Then the bombing would start and the teachers would hide us and wouldn’t let us leave school until the bombing had stopped.” Then a bomb hit his home. … [Read more...]
Samaritan’s Purse Photo Blogs
A Time to Embrace
Samaritan's Purse is providing relief to refugees in Greece
Soñando grande
How Samaritan's Purse transformed an empty field into a fully functioning hospital in the wake of the Ecuador earthquake
In the wake of a disaster, the speed of a response often means the difference between life and death. Samaritan’s Purse maintains a constant state of readiness so that when disasters strike, we can immediately mobilize a response team and bring life-saving care and supplies to those in need. … [Read more...]
Wrestling for Life
Refugees in South Sudan wrestle with life's challenges, but many have come to find joy in Christ
As David Abbi began to teach his Bible literacy lesson, he knew the two dozen adult students would identify with Abram’s journey from his home country in Haran to the land of Canaan. For them, it wasn’t just a story from the pages of Genesis. They had lived a similar journey—departing a home they had known and loved and setting out into a world of the unknown, fraught with difficulties, danger, and suffering. “God told Abram to take his family and move to a new location,” David told the … [Read more...]
The Shadow of Death
Thirteen Ebola survivors share their stories
In March 2014, Ebola virus disease was first reported in Liberia. The epidemic’s epicenter was Lofa County, nearly 300 miles from the capital and most populous city, Monrovia. As a result of traditional burial practices, a lack of leadership and healthcare, and denial, Ebola quickly spread. More than 4,800 Liberians died as a result of the disease. … [Read more...]
The Magnitude of Love
Our Emergency Field Hospital team brings physical and spiritual healing to earthquake survivors in Ecuador
On Saturday, April 16, at 6:30 p.m., families were cooking dinner, children were playing outside, and most were enjoying their normal weekend routine. They had no idea that this Saturday evening would soon deliver a devastating and deadly jolt. Just before 7 p.m., a 7.8-magnitude earthquake rocked the northern coast of Ecuador. It claimed 660 lives, injured more than 4,500 people, and leveled thousands of buildings. … [Read more...]
Caring for Bodies & Souls
Maternal and Child Health Programs in Cambodia
In the 1970s, the militant Khmer Rouge tore through Cambodia and wiped out a generation of educated citizens. In the aftermath of the genocide, many women were left in the dark, struggling without any basic knowledge of how to take care of their children. … [Read more...]
Pursuing a Higher Calling
Two families moved to Nepal to save lives. Along the way, their lives were transformed too.
Two years ago, the O'Keefes and the Riggsbees left their comfortable lives in the United States to follow the Great Physician's call to the Himalayan Mountains. Their destination-Tansen Mission Hospital in southern Nepal. … [Read more...]
Water Is Life
See our work in South Sudan for World Water Day 2016
The United Nations declared March 22 as World Water Day in 1993, to help draw attention to the vital importance of fresh, clean water. According to the U.N., some 2 billion people across the globe drink unsafe water. And every day, more than 1,000 children die from water-borne illnesses caused by dirty water and unhygienic living conditions. … [Read more...]
Surviving the Himalayan Winter
View a photo essay on our airlift of urgently needed winter supplies to mountain villages in Nepal
Thousands of isolated, impoverished villagers in the mountains of Nepal lost their homes and belongings in the catastrophic earthquake of April 2015. Now winter has set in and these families face a new crisis: enduring punishing weather with meager resources. … [Read more...]
Faces of the Faithful
Operation Christmas Child year-round volunteers serve in various roles to aid in the success of the project
Year-round volunteers make Operation Christmas Child possible. In all 50 states and Puerto Rico, more than 9,000 people ranging from youth to retirees serve on area teams that facilitate this Samaritan’s Purse project. Opportunities are available in leadership, church relations, logistics, community relations, media relations, prayer mobilization, administrative support, and student relations. With Operation Christmas Child, there’s a niche for you whatever your gift, life-stage, or location. … [Read more...]