World Vision Expands China Earthquake Appeal To $14 Million

- Increased global appeal will help reach 265,000 survivors - Many children homeless, orphaned, left without food and shelter

- World Vision plans Child-Friendly Spaces to help youth return to normalcy

HONG KONG, May 22 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- As the number of dead and missing from the China earthquake reaches 80,000 people, World Vision has increased its emergency appeal to $14 million. The Christian aid agency plans to reach 265,000 survivors with immediate and long-term assistance.

Temporary shelter remains the most pressing need in the quake zone. With the new budget, the international aid organization will also be able to distribute additional tents, shelter materials, food, quilts, medical supplies and other urgent necessities. Long-term, World Vision plans to rebuild 30 schools and 3,000 houses that have been damaged.

Meanwhile, the physical and emotional toll on the 5 million people left homeless continues to swell.

"When an earthquake strikes, everything becomes chaotic," said World Vision's Emergency Response Director for China, Victor Kan. "In Sichuan, people were terrified when violent shaking caused buildings to fall and roads to split wide open."

World Vision is particularly concerned about how children are coping. Without shelter, children are at risk of physical harm and lack a safe place to deal with psychosocial issues that result from the distress and grief of losing loved ones. Children are also at risk of being separated from their family or caregivers.

"The well-being of children must be attended to," Kan explained. "The first step is to provide shelter, food and safe drinking water. The next course of action is to offer children a safe place to play, a place where they can communicate their feelings and deal with the stress of the traumatic events they've just experienced."

World Vision plans to set up three Child-Friendly Spaces for children living in temporary shelter sites. The centers will have activities and games and offer children a chance to foster social connections, while normalizing their daily routine.

Expert interviews, survivor stories and photographs from Sichuan Province are available. Please contact Rachel Wolff at 253.394.2214 or rwolff@worldvison.org or Casey Calamusa at 206.310.5476 or ccalamus@worldvision.org.

World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children, families and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice. We serve all people, regardless of religion, race, ethnicity, or gender. For more information, please visit www.worldvision.org/press.

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Source: World Vision

CONTACT: Rachel Wolff, +1-253-394-2214, rwolff@worldvison.org, or Casey
Calamusa, +1-206-310-5476, ccalamus@worldvision.org, both for World Vision

Web site: http://www.worldvision.org/
http://www.worldvision.org/press

2008-05-22 21:17:23 0369433 PRNEWSWIRE