Church helps 1900 partners to build 2880 projects in 141 countries

THE Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 2018 annual report showed it had helped more than 1900 partners with 2885 projects in 141 countries, including Papua New Guinea, last year.
“We feel gratitude and kinship with every single person who contributed to the success of the humanitarian work in 2018,” said Sr Sharon Eubank, LDS Charities director and first counsellor in the Relief Society general presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
“This annual report represents the brotherly kindness of tens of thousands of people.”
Sr Eubank said volunteer hours and donations “make a big impact out of smaller offerings”.
Japan was affected by natural disasters including earthquakes, typhoons and flooding in 2018.
In April and June two 6.1-magnitude earthquakes in the Shimane and Osaka regions affected thousands of people.
In late June and early July, torrential rain and flooding affected southwestern Japan — the worst the country had seen in decades.
Over 200 people died and over a million people were forced to evacuate their homes.
LDS Charities worked with many national and local relief organisations in the disaster response and cleaning up.
“Most of the contributors donated a small amount of money to the humanitarian aid fund, at some personal sacrifice, because they couldn’t read the news and not do something,” Eubank said.
“It also represents countless man-hours given by volunteers — again at some personal sacrifice — in order to show up and help someone else facing one of their worst moments.”
In 2018, Latter-day Saints Charities also responded to international disasters in Saipan and Guatemala.
In the United States, relief supplies were provided to survivors of two large hurricanes and the most-devastating wildfire in California’s history.
The church also worked with refugee agencies like the International Rescue Committee to help refugees obtain beds, clothing and food, as well as employment opportunities and language skills.
Last year, there were 371 projects with resettlement agencies in 56 countries.