The most pressing global challenges always have to do with war, poverty, natural disasters, and other environmental issues. These problems are often linked, with natural disasters destroying homes and property, displacing millions, and bringing poverty, lack of good resources and healthcare, and disease, or armed conflicts leading to poverty and human trafficking and everything else mentioned earlier in the sentence.
In fact, there are some places in this world that are more vulnerable to disasters, poverty, and disease, such as developing countries in Africa and the Middle East, since they do not have as many resources as more developed countries like Canada and the United States. Armed conflicts are also an example of a disaster, since the disaster is faced by civilians: death, displacement, destruction of property, and, sometimes, no proper food, water, shelter, or healthcare until organizations such as UNICEF, World Vision, and the Red Cross can deport teams to the location.
Examples of natural disasters may include tsunamis, earthquakes, floods, volcanic eruptions, and anything else caused by nature that causes the destruction of a city and limits resources, food, shelter, and emergency aid to help the place recover. Examples of man-made disasters are armed conflicts, where civilians are often the victims of the disaster if the conflict takes place in a city, for example several battles in World War II.
Today, most natural disasters have the greatest impacts on developing countries, where it will be harder for the economy to recover and for citizens to rebuild their homes and property and at the same time receive medical attention, a temporary shelter, and food, and as a result, people stay in poverty and natural disasters such as floods, landslides, and tsunamis can bring diseases through dirty soil and water.
This article will highlight ten non-profit charities that pay close attention to these issues and the cycle of disasters, lack of resources, and poverty. The ten organizations are unique in their goals and where they operate: some operate worldwide, in certain continents, or in certain countries, and are headquartered in various places around the world.
They have different missions and work with different age groups. Some might only focus on man-made disasters, while others might only focus on poverty (since disasters aren’t the only cause of poverty out there). Regardless, every organization has its unique values and aims, and this article will highlight how they achieved worldwide recognition for their efforts.
Top Charities
UNICEF
The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund, founded in 1946, is a non-profit agency operated by the United Nations that focuses on providing humanitarian relief to children in poverty and who are victims of natural disasters. Their mission is to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential. They operate in over 190 countries as a UN organization and focus on things like child protection, education, emergency relief, gender equality, empowerment of children, and research.
An example of their dedication to ensure children are safe and can fulfill their potential is when they, along with the World Health Organization, published an article about healthy parenting. UNICEF won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1965 and the Princess of Austrias Award in 2006, along with many others. They believe that every child has the right to grow up in a safe and inclusive environment, whether it be out of poverty, in a safe home, or included.
GlobalMedic
Founded in 2002, Global Medic, also known as the David McAntony Gibson Foundation, is a respected Canadian charity dedicated to providing humanitarian aid and support to all those affected by poverty, disaster, or conflict in Canada. Their aim is to give the right aid to the right people at the right time. As stated on their website, GLobal Medic ‘always look[s] for new and better ways to do things’ and won an award for their RescUAV program as a result.
Their most recent initiative was responding to the damage inflicted on the Atlantic provinces by Hurricane Beryl and they have also demonstrated their willingness to spread their aid internationally by deploying to Jamaica in the aftermath of the hurricane. GlobalMedic’s partners and sponsors include World Vision, Air Canada, and Google.
Canadian Disaster Response Organization
The Canadian Disaster Response Organization (CDRO) is a non-profit, non-governmental organization headquartered in Ottawa that supports municipal, regional, provincial, and Indigenous emergency management. They have made significant contributions to Canada’s public safety net, and they envision a ‘more resilient Canada’ who is fiscally responsible and sustainable.
The CDRO has three goals: response, consultation, and training, in order to provide the right aid for disaster relief and train their members, volunteers, and emergency workers. On April 6th, 2021, the CDRO received the Certificate of Incorporation under the Canada Not-for-profit Corporation Act.
World Vision
World Vision is a Christian non-profit organization founded in 1950. They operate worldwide from multiple offices in places like London and California, focusing mostly on developing countries recovering from natural disasters and where many people live in poverty with a particular emphasis on children. Their initiatives focus on emergency relief, education, economic development, access to food and water, and social justice.
They are partnered with many UN agencies including the World Food Programme, UNICEF, and the UN Economic and Social Council. They also work to spread awareness about the causes of poverty and do this through public awareness and fundraising campaigns, and running a child sponsorship program. Their vision is a world where every child is protected and cared for, are responsible citizens, and given the opportunities God meant for them to have.
Médecins Sans Frontières
Médecins Sans Frontières (English: Doctors Without Borders) was founded in 1971 in France by a group of doctors and journalists in the aftermath of the famine in Nigeria. Their main focus is healthcare in the wake of war and disaster, and their aim is for accessible access to healthcare regardless of race, religion, or status, and where international borders don’t prevent it.
They have thousands of staff members and volunteers in over 160 countries and operate internationally from a headquarters in Geneva. They are a private, international organization made up of doctors and nurses who provide treatment to distressed populations and victims of natural disasters or armed conflicts.
Direct Relief
Founded in 1948, Direct Relief helps support victims of natural disasters through training and providing equipment to health professionals in affected areas in order to give victims the healthcare they deserve. They run the largest charitable initiative in the United States and operate in many vulnerable places in Asia and Africa as well. As a non-governmental charity, Direct Relief relies on private donations and contributions. They work with local healthcare services in all the communities they operate in. They also place a particular emphasis on maternal care.
International Committee of the Red Cross
Founded in 1863, the International Committee of the Red Cross is a non-profit, independent organization that provides humanitarian aid and healthcare to victims in armed conflicts, which includes civilians, prisoners of war, refugees, and everyone else who doesn’t fight. They are a neutral charity that ensures proper healthcare and shelter to all civilians in an armed conflict, regardless of their side of the war, their religion, political views, or race.
The mission of the ICRC is “to protect the lives and dignity of those affected by armed conflict and to provide them with assistance, such as food and clean water, healthcare, and shelter,” according to their website’s About Us page. They do this through direct service, advocacy, fundraising, and cooperations with governments. They have changed a number of humanitarian principles for several governments. The ICRC is a three-time Nobel Prize winner and is one of the most well-known organizations in the world. Their headquarters is in Geneva, Switzerland.
Samaritan’s Purse:
Founded in 1970, Samaritan’s Purse serves worldwide and its primary purpose is to bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to victims of war, poverty, natural disasters, famine, and disease. They specialize in disaster relief and providing food, water, and shelter to victims, working through a community’s local church partners. T
heir direct services initiatives include installing water purifiers after a natural disaster, providing emergency food kits with non-perishable food, and mobilizing medical teams at the disaster site to give professional medical assistance. Samaritan’s Purse also provides places for people to live in who have lost their homes. Their headquarters is in North Carolina and they have several offices in Hong Kong, Japan, England, the Netherlands, Canada, Ireland, and more. Their founder is the same person who founded World Vision.
Islamic Relief Worldwide:
Islamic Relief Worldwide, founded in 1984 in the United Kingdom, is a faith-based relief organization dedicated to providing humanitarian aid and support to Islamic communities in the Middle East. They operate in over 45 countries and their efforts help 10 million people per year and contribute to the goals of the UN’s SDGs. They also educate communities to better prepare themselves for things such as famine, disease, or natural disasters.
They do this by building community, partnerships with local partners, advocacy, and developing Islamic perspectives. They are one of five UK-based charities to have been certified against the Core Humanitarian Standard. They are also full participants of the INGO Accountability Charter, and their values include good governance, transparency, and social responsibility. They are signatories for the Red Cross Code of Conduct, meaning they agree with the ethical standards that must be followed by organizations specializing in humanitarian work.
Give2Asia
Give2Asia is a non-profit organization headquartered in the United States (specifically, in San Francisco) that gives aid to Asian communities. Their mission is “to strengthen communities in Asia by making cross-border giving easier and more effective.” Simply speaking, their aim is to make it easy to give humanitarian aid to Asian communities recovering from any type of disaster. Their vision is healthy and prosperous communities in Asia that are supported by international aid.
Their many values include sustainability, efficiency, and collaboration. Since their founding, they have successfully funded $535M to 1,900 organizations in Asia. The top issues and industries Give2Asia has supported with the most funds are education, healthcare, and environment. Their main focus is on disaster relief, environmental health, adequete healthcare, and poverty and disease relief. Their services and funds are most used in China and India.
Conclusion
There are many different types of disasters – natural disasters, man-made disasters, and armed conflicts – and in some cases, these might include environmental health, poverty, and disease. These organizations address, if not all, at least some of all of these problems, and they do this through a variety of ways including advocacy, fundraising, collaborations with local partners in each community, and direct service such as providing food, water, and shelter, deploying medical troops, and food and medicine packages. This can prove that when internationally-operating organizations work together with local organizations, we can succeed in providing disaster relief, healthcare, and poverty relief for everyone.
