Melissa’s Hope is an orphanage located in the area of Lizon, where the director, Tony Manshino and Jean Pascal Bain, are taking care of 18 orphans of which 13 have special needs. Taking over the orphanage was a learning experience for both Tony and Pascal, but mostly for Tony, who is a music producer and entrepreneur. Pascal turned it into
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Direct Relief and the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) awarded this week $82,000 to the Shanti Volunteer Association (SVA) to support the remodeling of a mobile library vehicle. The current mobile library, which serves 150 households in Iwate Prefecture on the tsunami-affected coast, is a small truck with bookshelves. To continue operating and expand services to additional temporary housing establishments,
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Direct Relief has provided $30,000 in cash and $50,000 (wholesale) in medical supplies to respond to the Horn of Africa famine crisis that has affected nearly 1 million people along the northern border of Kenya. Provided primarily through the Kenyan NGO Council (of which Direct Relief’s Regional Medical Adviser in Kenya, Dr. Hezron Mc’Obewa, is a member), the aid supports
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In response to the famine and humanitarian health crisis unfolding in Southern Somalia and the surrounding region, Direct Relief is boosting inventories of medications and medical supplies for people seeking care in Northern Kenya. Dr. Hezron Mc’Obewa, the founder of the OGRA Foundation in Kisumu, Kenya, who also serves as Direct Relief’s regional medical adviser, is coordinating Direct Relief’s humanitarian
Read more →Direct Relief and the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) recently awarded $400,000 to the Association for Aid and Relief Japan (AAR Japan) to support AAR Japan’s Phase 2 Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Project. Although AAR Japan’s primary focus is on the distribution of food and other essential items, the 31-year-old organization has also initiated long-term recovery efforts that include repairing
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Grassroots community organizations in Haiti that received funding to help their neighborhoods recover from the January 2010 earthquake are reporting positive results from the grants they received last year. Three such groups focused on education have had a particularly valuable and positive impact on children. Asanble Vwazen Solino (AVS), a free school in Solino, teaches children academics and trades. Immediately after
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