When disaster strikes, local churches are often at the heart of the response: their buildings used as emergency shelters or feeding centres, their people reaching out with generosity to friends and neighbours who’ve lost everything.
That’s why at Tearfund we invest in local churches, helping them prepare for disaster. We know which communities are most vulnerable to flooding, to earthquakes, to droughts. And we know there are simple, tried-and-tested methods that can save lives in those communities – such as educating people about the early-warning signs of disasters, making sure they know where to go and what to do.
We make sure we don’t just tackle the fallout of disasters. We work on the bigger picture as well. That’s why as well as responding when disaster strikes, we also help churches hold governments to account; to agree policies and fund activities that reduce the impact of disasters and save lives.
Right now our Disaster Management Teams (DMT) are working in Haiti, South Sudan, Darfur, Afghanistan and Democratic Republic of Congo. Their work is vital in helping countries to prepare for disasters and recover when they happen.