By Steff WillisWednesday 15 Feb 202396five BreakfastSocial JusticeReading Time: 2 minutes
Brisbane floods, Lismore, Türkiye and Auckland – wherever people need help, Samaritan’s Purse are there.
Samaritan’s Purse is a non-profit, Christian organisation providing emergency relief and development assistance to suffering people around the world. Samaritan’s Purse is meeting the physical needs of victims of war, famine, natural disaster, like the earthquakes in Türkiye, to demonstrate God’s love and sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ.
96five’s Ken and Nicky caught up with Samaritan’s Purse Regional Disaster Relief Manager Dan Stephens about their recent work in Auckland and how Samaritan’s Purse approaches on the ground disaster relief.
“The city’s working hard to recover” said Dan Stephens after recently returning from Auckland where Samaritan’s Purse is responding to the flooding and recovery efforts.
“There’s a couple of different community hubs that are set up that are helping people, lots of churches are involved helping people that have been displaced from their houses to provide temporary shelter, create temporary accommodation, food, hygiene items – those kinds of things.”
“They’re also getting hit a second time with the cyclone right now as well. They’re going through a lot right now.”
When a natural disaster strikes, Samaritan’s Purse are quick to respond whether that’s through a request from members of the affected community or by monitoring the disaster online.
“Often times when a disaster happens… the local churches or people that just know Samaritan’s Purse and the type of disaster relief work that we do and they’ll reach out to us.”
“That’s actually always the best because that’s firsthand knowledge of what’s happening on the ground. People that see both the impacts of the disaster but also the impacts on people and how people are trying to recover and get through the process.”
We really think of ourselves as more of a hope bringing organisation because people in a disaster just need a sense of hope. Dan Stephens, Samaritan’s Purse
Dan shared with Ken and Nicky about how faith plays a huge role in the work of Samaritan’s Purse.
“It’s not something that we hide. It’s something that we really believe that, especially in times of disaster, that Christian people really have a responsibility to get out there and to love their neighbours and to love the people that are suffering.”
“By doing that, by providing that physical aide and meeting the physical need but so much of the time people that have been affected by disaster just really need hope. They just really need a community of people to come around them and love them and listen to them and offering them that sense of hope. That’s really what we try to do as Samaritan’s Purse.”
To learn more about Samaritan’s Purse and how you can help and even sign up to volunteer when a natural disaster hits, visit the Samaritan’s Purse website.
Listen to the full interview in the player above.
Feature Image: Wes Warren on Unsplash