Disaster Relief Organizations

What Are Some Faith Based Disaster Relief Organizations?

There are a number of faith based disaster relief organizations, many with recognizable names like the Salvation Army and The Southern Baptist Convention. Both organizations have large numbers of members and volunteers. GFA World is another organization that provides disaster relief, and it stands out among other organizations for its work is accomplished through national missionaries that are living among the people they are ministering to.

GFA national missionaries are from the areas where they are serving, so they know the culture, people and needs better than an outsider would.[1]This gives them a clear advantage, which helps make GFA’s ministry effective. The national missionaries are trained in poverty alleviation and disaster relief, using solutions like education, vocational training and income-generating gifts to break the cycle of poverty. These actions give the survivors hope for their futures, which would otherwise be very disheartening in the event of a natural disaster.[2]

GFA missionaries were working hard to help earthquake survivors in Nepal after a 7.8 magnitude quake hit in May of 2015, followed by a 7.3 aftershock, the worst disaster in the country’s history.[3] Samita lost her father when their house collapsed on him in the earthquake. Their mother had left them ten years earlier, so the earthquake left Samita and her two siblings as orphans and living with their uncles.

GFA missionaries asked Samita how they could help her, and her one request was quite revealing: “Please help me study and go to school.”[4] With no one else to take care of her siblings, she would have to drop out of school to find a job. GFA has programs specifically to prevent children from having to make that sacrifice. Samita is just one of the thousands of kids who lost friends and family in the initial earthquake or one of the hundreds of aftershocks. GFA workers were right there working with the traumatized kids. Four Sisters of Compassion spent time with them, playing games, giving them candy and just generally caring for them.[5]

GFA World has been on the scene for these and many more disasters, providing immediate emergency relief and long-term solutions leading out of the crisis, which provides hope for the victims for their earthly futures and eternal ones too. Consider helping these efforts by donating to GFA and joining others in prayer for disaster relief work.

Learn more about GFA and disaster relief organizations

[1] “National Missionaries.” GFA World. https://www.gfa.org/sponsor/why-national-missionaries. Accessed October 26, 2022.
[2] “Disaster Relief Work.” GFA World. https://www.gfa.org/compassion-services/disaster-flood-relief. Accessed October 26, 2022.”
[3] “Nepal Earthquake: One Year Later.” GFA World. https://www.gfa.org/earthquake/nepal/. Accessed October 26, 2022.
[4] “Children Affected by the Nepal Earthquakes.” GFA World. https://www.gfa.org/nepal/children-of-nepal/. May 2016.
[5] Ibid.