A disaster can be defined as “any situation involving the severe disruption, distress, and suffering of large numbers of people … that demands a humanitarian response.[1]” This can include any natural disaster such as floods, earthquakes or prolonged droughts as well as health epidemics, political unrest or wars.
World Neighbors Programs Affected by Tropical Storm Agatha 
Torrential rains, brought on by the first tropical storm of the season, triggered massive mudslides and flooding throughout Central America, including, World Neighbors programs around the Lake Atitlan area on Saturday, May 29. The mudslides and flooding from Tropical Storm Agatha have destroyed crops, made roads impassable and damaged homes and water systems. More than 471 families in World Neighbors programs have been directly affected.
World Neighbors is working to address the immediate needs of these families. The short-term needs include:
- water
- food
- blankets/bedding
- clothes
- medicine
- mattresses/beds
- soap and personal hygiene products
Please consider giving a gift today. Your gift will support the short-term relief in Guatemala and long-term efforts in Latin America and Haiti.
Any funds that exceed the level necessary to provide relief in this recovery effort will support World Neighbors ongoing work to help those around the world lift themselves out of poverty.
The long road to recovery in Haiti
On January 12, 2010 at 4:53 p.m., the lives of millions of Haitians were forever changed. A 7.0 magnitude earthquake shook Port-au-Prince, the capital city, for about 40 seconds causing catastrophic damage and fear.
“It was the longest minute in the life of each Haitian,” said Leneve Julien, World Neighbors senior program associate for Haiti. “Now we know what hell is.”
Over three million people were affected by this tragedy, including World Neighbors eight Haiti staff. After two grueling days of attempting to make contact, we were overjoyed to learn that all eight staff members and two other staff who were visiting Haiti were all safe.
After months of emergency aid and crisis intervention in Port-au-Prince, Haitians are rebuilding their lives. Learn more about World Neighbors work in Haiti.
World Neighbors is a long-term development agency and typically does not assist with disaster relief and rehabilitation efforts. Under certain circumstances, however, World Neighbors will respond to disasters, frequently working in partnership with other agencies. We will always seek to respond to affected people’s expressed needs and to build upon their capacities, organizational structures and coping mechanisms, addressing the immediate crisis in a way that returns them as quickly as possible towards a long-term development process.
World Neighbors long-term programs seek to improve local capacity for development, and by doing so, the programs also contribute to reducing participants’ vulnerability to disasters. This happens, for example, when farmers adopt more sustainable agricultural and environmental management approaches; community-based organizations gain increased capacity to address new challenges that inevitably arise; or particularly vulnerable communities develop contingency plans to respond in the event of a disaster.
When disasters strike and World Neighbors determines that it will respond, we use financial resources raised for the disaster response to achieve the following goals:
- To help the affected communities meet their emergency needs for survival and recovery; and
- To transition as quickly as possible back to long-term development objectives.
Disaster Resources
World Neighbors in Action
Learning to Confront Disasters like Hurricane Mitch
Lessons from the Field
Reasons for Resiliency - Toward a Sustainable Recovery After Hurricane Mitch
[1] The Oxfam Handbook of Development and Relief, Deborah Eade and Suzanne Williams, Oxfam (UK and Ireland), 1995. p. 811.