Your Generous Donations are Saving Lives in the Central African Republic
Children like Pierre, receive lifesaving aid through your donations that help buy things like Plumpy’Nut, a ready-to-use therapeutic food.
Change people's lives at home and around the world
Children like Pierre, receive lifesaving aid through your donations that help buy things like Plumpy’Nut, a ready-to-use therapeutic food.
Donations to the Humanitarian Aid Fund are helping World Food Programme Somalia ensure that 35,323 schoolchildren have five months of nutritious food.
We recently provided support to WaterAid, an organization on a mission to transform lives by improving access to clean water, hygiene, and sanitation in the world’s poorest communities.
Hunger affects the most vulnerable people in our world, people who cannot help themselves. Following the example of Christ, many people just like you donate to help the poor and needy of the world.
Each year, donations to Humanitarian Services, Church-owned schools, and other worthy causes help children to be healthy, happy, and prepared to work and serve in their respective communities.
Thousands of children in the Philippines spend their childhood sifting through mountains of garbage seeking income selling recyclables. Education programs targeting these children are helping these children rise out of the dumps.
Tens of thousands of abandoned children in the Philippines get snatched up and funneled through human trafficking. Orphanage organizations are working to find and protect these children, provide health care, and open doors to a better life.
When we say that “the Church” is donating billions of dollars to humanitarian aid, we are really saying that donors – members and friends of the church – are donating billions of dollars. Thanks to all of you who continue to support this great work of blessing people’s lives at home and around the world.
All missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Italy and all Church members there are alive and well after a powerful earthquake killed at least 120 people in central Italy early Wednesday morning.
Naima spent her entire childhood in a refugee camp in Kenya. Now she has a Master’s in Social Work and is making a difference in the lives of families, helping and lifting others as she was helped and lifted.
Millions of Syrian refugees have been impacted by the Syrian civil war that broke out in 2011. Watch and listen to Nadia’s story; A 12 year old Syrian refugee child who, while fleeing Syria, was shot in the back and paralyzed.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is continuing its long-standing partnership with international humanitarian organizations to tend to the dire needs of refugees entering Europe. Support is underway to provide food, shelter, clothing and medical supplies and other life-sustaining necessities.
The First Presidency, the Church’s highest governing body, stated, “It is with great concern and compassion that we observe the plight of the millions of people around the world who have fled their homes seeking relief from civil conflict and other hardships."
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland shares how LDS Charities and its neonatal resuscitation training program is helping midwives, nurses, and doctors keep newborns from becoming just another statistic.
The humanitarian arm of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is determining how it can best help to relieve the suffering.
The Vanuatu Port Vila Mission President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Larry Brewer, made contact with missionary leaders on the island of Tanna. The missionary leaders confirmed that all 11 missionaries on Tanna are accounted for and safe.
La Paz’s Departmental Legislative Assembly recently honored the Church for its ongoing tradition of charitable service both in the city and across the entire Andean nation. The award lauded the Church and its members “as an institution and living example of valued humanitarian aid.”
Zack’s Shack fundraising effort has now blessed 332 lives with mobility worldwide.
Humanitarian outreach by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is benefiting many people throughout the country through dozens of non-profit organizations in Utah and surrounding states.
Civil strife in Syria has brought about 200,000 people to live in camps. When asked what they needed, they had one request.
By digging wells and boreholes in drought-stricken countries of Africa, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints helps provide health and happiness to entire villages.
The theme of this event was “The Other Side of Me,” and was held not only to honor the disabled graduates, but to showcase the skills and talents they have developed despite their disabilities.
Representatives of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints addressed the role of the Church’s global humanitarian outreach efforts at a meeting at the United Nations in New York City on 27 February 2014. The gathering was part of the Focus on Faith series of the Nongovernmental Organizations (NGO) Relations and Advocacy Section of the U.N.’s Department of Public Information (DPI).
March 1 is International Wheelchair Day. One of the global initiatives of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is Wheelchair Training and Distribution. LDS Charities, the social arm of the Church has been engaged in wheelchair distribution for 10 years.
"The daily 200-metre walk to fetch water will now be over for residents of Vacunimata after a new 10,000-litre water tank was installed in the settlement," reports the Fiji Times this week.
Several months after a devastating typhoon struck the Philippines, relief efforts by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) continue in some of the hardest hit areas of the country. Disaster response has now turned to relief efforts as volunteers are learning to build homes for residents still without shelter.
It's a much-needed approach to saving newborn babies - two volunteer physicians and a registered nurse journey from the United States to Bandung, Indonesia, to train 20 local physicians in newborn resuscitation. But what difference can they possibly make when an overwhelming 900,000 babies die each year because they can’t breathe at birth? The difference comes when three trainers train 20 who in turn train 600 more.
14 JANUARY 2014 — NUKU'ALOFA, TONGA. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is rushing emergency supplies from Tongatapu to the island group of Ha’apai following the weekend’s devastating cyclone.
A pair of Latter-day Saint Paralympians, Jeff Griffin and Keith Barney, spent several days in Nepal working with a group of fellow wheelchair users.
This important community initiative occurs prior to each Easter and Thanksgiving. Since its inception in 2008, the interfaith coalition has distributed nearly 45,000 meals. This year's Thanksgiving event involves 15 congregations of various faiths and a few other organizations. They join together to feed those who can't feed themselves and offer comfort in a time of need.
The international media have moved on, now that the bodies have been removed from the streets. But the real work is just beginning. Many residents of Tacloban have fled to places like Manila and Cebu City. Those who remain have no idea when they’ll be able to shop for food the way they once did, just to survive.
More than 200 Mormon missionaries serving in the Philippines Tacloban Mission were displaced by the 8 November 2013 Typhoon Haiyan. All of those missionaries, apart from some who have concluded their mission service, are now filling new assignments in one of 11 other missions in the islands.
Along the coast of the Philippines the wreckage from the storm festers under the sun — villages flattened, trees pulverized to splinters, the smell of decay and rot rising with the heat. In little villages most people don’t know exist, water is scarce and people are hungry.
As the storm worsened, the missionaries could feel the house shaking, metal poles outside snapping, animals howling. But the water nearly reached the ceiling. They had to get out. They knew the current could pull them out into the ocean, but if they stayed where they were now, they would drown.
Learn what the Church is doing to provide relief in the wake of Typhoon Haiyan. Learn how you can help.
MANILA — Based on latest reports, a total of 14,000 individuals from different parts of the Philippines have taken shelter at 200 Church meetinghouses.
UPDATE (11 November 2013 - 7:15 p.m. MST) The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints reported that all of its missionaries serving in the 21 missions in the Philippines have been contacted and are safe following the devastating loss of life from Typhoon Haiyan.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints expresses condolences to the millions affected by Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines and is providing shelter, food, water and other basic supplies to evacuees and displaced families. Funding for these supplies comes from donations to the Humanitarian Fund.
Representatives from LDS Charities worked with American Near East Refugee Aid (ANERA) to provide wheelchairs for Palestinian refugees in the summer of 2013. Not only were 137 wheelchairs provided, but training was given to help recipients get the most use and time out of them.
The Latter Day Saints Charities in collaboration with members of the Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Tafara and Mabvuku undertook a project to cover the private water wells in Tafara and Mabvuku Suburbs of Harare.
After the devastating 2010 earthquake in Santiago, Chile, LDS Charities helped citizens find water, food, and shelter.
Riqui traveled eight-kilometers twice each day in a broken wheelchair. See how a brand-new rugged wheelchair donated through LDS Charities changed his life.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is providing relief supplies and volunteers to support communities in Oklahoma affected by five tornadoes that struck near Oklahoma City on Friday, 31 May.
The Widow’s Mite
Forty years ago, Glenn Orr built the Orr Family Farm, a farm-themed amusement park and horse stables that attract thousands of visitors each year from Oklahoma and beyond. But when a powerful tornado hit Moore, Oklahoma, on 20 May, the Orr Family Farm was decimated. Amid the chaos and cleanup, family member Shelby Orr is leaving for 18 months of service as a Mormon missionary.
Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are working with other religious groups and charity organizations to assist victims of a tornado that tore up to a two-mile-wide by 17-mile-long swath of destruction through the city of Moore, Oklahoma, on 20 May. The tornado claimed 24 lives and injured nearly 400 others.
When disasters happen, like the recent tornados in Oklahoma, many people inquire how they might assist or donate to the Church’s relief efforts. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints uses donations to the Humanitarian Aid Fund on an "as-needed" basis to purchase and deliver aid during times of crisis or whenever humanitarian assistance is needed. Unless specifically indicated, funds are not earmarked for any particular disaster or region. Supplies are distributed without regard to race, creed, or religion and 100 percent of all donations are used to help the people in need.
As part of World Immunization Week, the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunizations (GAVI) — an organization that has prevented close to six million deaths through immunizations — posted a video about its partnership with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints expresses condolences to those affected by Monday’s destructive tornadoes that hit five states, the most devastating of which occurred in Moore, Oklahoma.
In a continued effort to help Haitians following the 2010 earthquake, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and friends are planting 400,000 trees in Haiti, with nearly 25,000 planted on 1 May 2013. Another 75,000 trees are scheduled for planting by year's end.
After decades of helping the poor and needy, LDS Charities took its place at the international table with other major humanitarian organizations on Tuesday to discuss its work.
During 2012, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints responded to 104 disasters in 52 countries. The Church organized thousands of member volunteers, including approximately 28,000 during Hurricane Sandy recovery efforts.
LDS Charities brings Guatemalan families efficient stoves to help save trees and improve health.
Cyclone Evan, one of the most powerful storms to hit Samoa and American Samoa in 20 years, battered the islands with wind gusts up to 130 mph, heavy rain, and pounding surf Thursday.
Joshua Brown, a Church member in the New York area made a video to document the relief efforts and to encourage more volunteers to help.
Members and missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints along the East Coast are organizing projects to help those affected by Hurricane Sandy. Church members in areas hit by the storm have worked to help neighbors with immediate needs, including clearing trees and debris. In areas less affected by the storm, members organized clothing and supply drives in their communities.
Members and missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will provide assistance this weekend to those affected by Hurricane Sandy. Local Church leaders are planning significant disaster relief efforts, organized on both a local and regional level in Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey.
Members and missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will provide assistance this weekend to those affected by Hurricane Sandy. Local Church leaders are planning significant disaster relief efforts, organized on both a local and regional level in Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey.
With tens of thousands of ill-prepared refugees fleeing war-torn Syria, LDS Charities has answered the call for help with more than $1 million in humanitarian aid already provided or in the works.
Some people made homemade apple butter or casseroles, others cleared public trails and parks, but the majority of the effort was focused on the battle against hunger in the states of Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia and in the District of Columbia.
Thousands of Mormon Helping Hands volunteers throughout Africa were busy on a Saturday in August cleaning, digging, weeding, filling potholes and mowing lawns — and that’s not all.
Sala-Jama is one of 22 sites along the border of Ethiopia and Somalia that received water last year through a partnership between LDS Charities and International Relief and Development. That effort—along with the 5,000 hygiene kits prepared by local members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Ethiopia—was part of a coordinated response to the drought in East Africa.
When the billion-dollar Teton Dam disaster struck Idaho in 1976, a force of 45,000 Latter-day Saints was deployed almost overnight to provide emergency relief.
Latter-day Saint Charities provided 96 volunteer doctors, nurses, dental specialists and medical technicians to Pacific Partnership 2012, a four-month long U.S. Pacific Fleet humanitarian and civic assistance project that brought together U.S. military personnel, host and partner nations, nongovernmental organizations and international agencies.
Torrential rain paralyzed the city of Manila in the Philippines Tuesday, 7 August, sweeping homes from their foundations, stranding residents on rooftops and triggering a landslide. 250,000 people are now homeless.
Millions of children eat one meal a day because they don't have enough food. But in the highlands of Ecuador, a self-sustaining program launched by LDS Charities is helping to change that.
A partnership of service has been renewed between The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) and the American Red Cross to help those in need.
Good health for the children of the world is a priority of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Church has participated in an immunization program for many years and this week the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunizations (GAVI) expressed gratitude to the worldwide faith for its $1.5 million donation.
LDS Charities partnered with the First Lady of Peru to bring supplies and nutrition to highland villages.
For the third year in a row, Zack’s back with all the energy a little boy can muster. In 2010, his lemonade stand in Provo, Utah raised enough money to buy one wheelchair to bless the life of someone in desperate need of mobility in a faraway country.
Elder Holland talks about the universal joy of motherhood and birth, and the blessings to both provided by neonatal resuscitation training.
A young woman receives a set of prosthetic legs that enable her to walk again after being struck by a vehicle over 10 years ago
Improving Access to Vision Care
Clean Water in Guatemala
When Jamie Hansen arrived at the vineyard on Christmas Day, he found something totally unexpected... the fields were full of Church members from the Madera Spanish Ward pruning the vines. They had given up their Christmas to serve the Savior on His holy day.
Emergency Response is a key component of the overall LDS Charities mission. This unique infographic video shows the annual impact of the life-saving efforts of the LDS Church.
Subsistence farmers improve their self-reliance and give back to those in need.
This past June, while visiting one of our sons and his family in Watertown, N.Y., I decided to go for a morning walk. Our son recommended a route that included a steep, mile-long hill.
In his wildest dreams, Butch Cassidy would never have guessed that one of his old stomping grounds would become a hideout for, um . . . social media. Butch was pretty much antisocial, and the term social media wasn’t coined for another hundred years.In his wildest dreams, Butch Cassidy would never have guessed that one of his old stomping grounds would become a hideout for, um . . . social media. Butch was pretty much antisocial, and the term social media wasn’t coined for another hundred years.
Ten years ago on 9/11, most of us were focused on the World Trade Center Twin Towers in New York City. But Liz Howell was focused on the Pentagon, 228 miles away in Washington, D.C. That's where her husband, Brady, had just landed his dream job in national security following graduate school. Liz tells about her tragic loss and her touching recovery.
LDS Charities provides hygiene training and clean water wells for hundreds of sites in impoverished Sierra Leone.
More than 550 members and friends of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints lent a helping hand in June to aid victims of the flooding along the Richelieu River in Quebec in the first ever Disaster Relief Mormon Helping Hands Project in Eastern Canada.
When the sea overruns the earth and washes away all semblance of normal life, as Japan's tsunami did in March, everything changes — even Mormon missionaries' routines.
WMembers of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the southern United States are among those affected by a series of deadly tornadoes that hit six states. At last report, the storms have killed at least 280 people and injured hundreds more. The loss of life is the worst from tornadoes in the United States in nearly 40 years.
“I feel very good about my projects,” said Jane. “Doing them has made a difference in my life, and it brings me a lot of peace. Some people spend a lot of time trying to ‘find’ themselves when it could be so much better to spend that time helping others. If everyone did something, even though it might be small it would bring us all closer to Christ. I wish I could do more.”
I’ve been pleasantly surprised by personal reader response to my “Traveling the world to learn about humility and hope” blog earlier this month. One reader, Brian Minert, echoed my feelings when he said, “They are all real people, in real places, but sometimes it hurts more when we use our memories instead of our imaginations.”
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is providing food, water and other relief supplies to victims of recent flooding and landslides in Colombia, and plans to distribute more aid in the coming months, including 11 containers of much needed supplies from the Church’s Humanitarian Center and Bishops’ Central Storehouse.
Jim Croce (1943-1973) sang about a man down on his luck when he wrote "Workin' at the Car Wash Blues" in 1972. This summer, some Alabama teens worked at a car wash to help others down on their luck. The teens' focus? The more than one million Haitians still living on the street after a catastrophic earthquake in January.
"We never gave up hope," said Ngandu Kabongo, the water committee manager for a sprawling village in the Democratic Republic of Congo in Africa, known as Luputa.
His Excellency Husain Haqqani, Pakistan ambassador to the United States, made a brief stop at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints headquarters following the Church’s 10 September announcement of humanitarian aid provided to the people of Pakistan.
A 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck about 20 miles (30 km) northwest of Christchurch on New Zealand’s South Island early Saturday morning at 4:35 a.m. causing extensive damage.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is coordinating with other relief agencies to provide aid to flood-ravaged Pakistan. The Church has partnered with International Relief and Development, International Medical Corps, and Saba Aslam Welfare and Trust to locally purchase and distribute immediate relief supplies. Additional supplies from the Humanitarian Center in Salt Lake City will be shipped in the coming weeks in partnership with Islamic Relief USA.
Today, thanks to humanitarian efforts, the incidence of measles worldwide has also been reduced by nearly 80 percent just in this past decade.
As we drove into Santo Domingo, I was startled to see cars coming toward us in two of our three lanes. As the cars got closer, they flowed around us — just like water. Elder Michael Francom, an LDS humanitarian missionary, said, “Don’t worry . . . traffic laws in the Dominican Republic are merely a suggestion.”
Liz Howell is one of my heroes. Nearly nine years ago on 9/11, most of us were focused on the World Trade Center Twin Towers in New York City. But Liz was focused on the Pentagon, 228 miles away in Washington, D.C. That’s where her husband, Brady, had just landed his dream job in national security following graduate school. Tragically, Brady did not survive the attack.
Wearing their yellow Helping Hands vests, members from Ljubljana joined with members in the Maribor and Celje branches to help to clean up Slovenia in a day of service on April 17.
Leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Chile are actively assisting in relief efforts and determining how the Church can be of most assistance in the wake of one of the most powerful earthquakes of the last century. With over half a million Latter-day Saints living in the country, the Church has a substantial presence in Chile.
Dancing, shouts of joy and speeches marked the end of a significant milestone for residents recently in several villages of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Water finally gushed out from an 18-mile-long pipe to the African villages of Tshiabobo, Mafumba, Kasha, Ibola and will be in Luputa City by next summer.
Recent disasters in the Philippines, Samoa, and American Samoa have left hundreds dead and thousands without the necessities of life. Initial reports indicate that 24 Church members in the Philippines and 8 members in Samoa have been killed, with many others missing. Those interested in helping financially may donate online to the Emergency Response Fund.
Church members in Central Iowa received a Governor's Volunteer Award for their service throughout different communities of the state. In a ceremony held July 27 in Des Moines, Gov. Chester J. Culver recognized the Church as a great help in building and helping communities.
A chartered cargo plane loaded with relief supplies has landed in Samoa to aid victims of last week’s tsunami.
Tropical storm Ketsana struck the Philippines on Saturday, 26 September 2009, triggering the heaviest rainfall in 40 years and causing significant flooding. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is providing food, water, clothing, hygiene items and other relief supplies, which are being purchased locally and distributed to those in the affected region.
Bishop Richard C. Edgley, First Counselor in the Presiding Bishopric of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has dedicated a new welfare services center in Harrisville, Utah.
In response to the deepening drought in Ethiopia, the Church recently sent 1.4 million pounds of Atmit to help famine-stricken children, expectant mothers, and the elderly in the African nation.
When the Ivory Coast set out to immunize 3.2 million children under five years of age, they hoped to achieve a 50 percent success rate. They were thrilled when 95 percent were vaccinated. Similar success was found in Benin, where all 1.2 million children were vaccinated.
“In 2005, humanitarian doctors found water-caused health problems in Kersa Illala,” said Brett Bass, Director of Humanitarian Services. “They asked us for help in getting a clean water system. So we provided the materials and expertise to drill a well and provide six watering stations.”