STORIES
Kutupalong Refugee Camp, Bangladesh // photo: Paul Jeffrey/ACT Alliance
 In recent weeks, a series of catastrophic storms has devastated communities across the globe — from the Caribbean to the Pacific — testing residents’ resilience and faith, and the strength of our shared compassion. At the end of October, Hurricane Melissa made landfall in Jamaica as a Category 5 storm with winds reaching 185 mph, one of the most powerful Atlantic hurricanes ever recorded. More than 50 people were killed, thousands of homes destroyed, and an estimated 700,000 children affected across the Caribbean. Power grids collapsed, roads washed away, and entire neighborhoods were left without clean water or safe shelter. In Haiti, where infrastructure was already fragile, the situation remains dire. There is a lack of safe drinking water and health services, food shortages and agricultural losses, and urgent needs for shelter and hygiene supplies. Crowded displacement centers heighten protection risks, and logistical challenges continue to delay the delivery of aid. Through the ACT Alliance Caribbean Forum and in close coordination with Global Ministries, Week of Compassion is supporting partners in Jamaica, Cuba, and Haiti who are responding to immediate and long-term needs, providing food, water, and safe spaces for families while coordinating relief distributions and planning for long-term recovery.
NCCP Team responding to Typhoon Kalmaegi-affected communities in Cebu, conducting rapid needs assessment while distributing hot meals and drinking water. (photo - NCCP) In Jamaica, assessments from partners reveal widespread damage to homes, churches, and institutions. Two schools and a children’s home connected with one of the churches sustained severe structural damage. In addition to repairing buildings, local leaders are identifying urgent needs for bottled water, food, hygiene kits, tarps, tools, generators, and roofing materials – while also prioritizing pastoral care and trauma support for those who have lost homes and livelihoods. Meanwhile, across the Pacific, a parallel crisis has unfolded with less attention but no less suffering. In early November, Typhoon Kalmaegi tore through the Visayas region of the Philippines, followed closely by Super Typhoon Fung-Wong. Widespread floods, landslides, and winds destroyed homes and infrastructure, leaving at least 114 people dead, more than 560,000 displaced, and tens of thousands of families cut off from basic relief. From the National Council of Churches in the Philippines, Patricia Mungcal shared: “Destruction is widespread and the death toll is high. We have a team deployed already in Cebu for assessments and immediate response.” Rev. Homar Rubert Distajo of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines wrote: “Our people are tired, but they are not without courage. Our churches are damaged but not defeated. Compassion is a river that never runs dry when we share what we have together.”
Their words reflect what we believe as a church — that compassion is not simply an emotion, but a calling. At Week of Compassion, our mission is to alleviate suffering through the presence and partnership of the church. Whether the crisis is in Jamaica, Cebu, or Port-au-Prince, we respond because faith compels us to stand alongside those displaced by poverty, violence, persecution, or disaster. We respond not because we are powerful, but because we are present — because the church is often among the first to act and the last to leave. In moments when systems fail or governments withdraw, faith communities remain, offering bread, water, shelter, and hope. Through ACT Alliance and Global Ministries partners, Week of Compassion stands with churches that continue to serve courageously, often at great personal cost. This is what it means to live our core values: compassion that acts wherever the suffering is great, partnership that trusts local leaders to guide their own recovery, equity that ensures no one is forgotten, and faithfulness that roots our response in the gospel call to love our neighbor. When disaster strikes, Week of Compassion is there — through partners on the ground, through congregations opening their doors, and through your prayers and generosity. Together, we make compassion visible. Together, we embody the truth of 1 Corinthians 12:26: “When one part of the body suffers, all suffer with it.” Now, as our partners continue to respond to these urgent crises, you can help ensure that relief and recovery efforts continue. By giving to Week of Compassion’s International Emergency Response fund, you are joining hands with communities on the ground — helping provide food, clean water, shelter, and long-term recovery for families whose lives have been upended by disaster. Your gift, designated International Emergency Response, brings food, water, shelter, and hope where it’s needed most. When storms strike — near and far — we respond, as one church, walking together in faith and hope. Comments are closed.
|
