Volunteer Minister Disaster Relief for Mozambique
- Cyclone Idai is one of the worst natural disasters to strike the southern hemisphere.
- Mozambique’s population is 31 million, with Portuguese being the native language.
In the late hours of 14 March, Cyclone Idai made landfall in Mozambique, Africa— causing devastating destruction in the major city of Beira. It wiped out nearly 90 percent of the city, and left major flooding in its wake.
Cyclone Idai continued on across Zimbabwe and Malawi, with over 700 fatalities reported and more than a hundred thousand survivors living in makeshift shelters.
Support from the IAS made it possible to immediately fly in the most experienced disaster response Volunteer Ministers from across the world to the disaster site. The elite Volunteer Ministers (VM) team includes the founder of the internationally renowned search and rescue team, Los Topos, who has been to almost every major disaster in the past decade—such as Haiti, Japan and Nepal.
The VMs have set up a base just outside Beira with a priority to help organize the distribution of vital supplies, to train additional search and rescue personnel, and to deliver assists to those in need.
This VM disaster response grant is only possible with the continued support of IAS members.
Here are a few examples of how your donations can make a difference: A $100 donation can make possible the distribution of 30 VM booklets; $1,000 can help transport several professional VMs from abroad to the disaster site; and $5,000 makes it possible for a team of specialist VMs (such as doctors or certified EMTs) to fly into a disaster site and provide vitally needed medical care for a month.
You can help support the VMs in action. To make a donation to the IAS, log on to IASmembership.org.
