Since their emergence in northeastern Nigeria in 2002, militants in the terrorist organization Boko Haram have set about the task of remaking West Africa into their own image. Seeking to eliminate differing ideologies, they have killed thousands of people of various backgrounds. Often overlooked are the faces of those that survive. Throughout Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, and Niger, millions of people have fled their homes seeking safety and freedom wherever it can be found. Many of these people … [Read more...]
Samaritan’s Purse Blog
Courage Undeterred
A look into the lives of refugees fleeing from Boko Haram
August 9, 2016
At Ease
Military couples find rest from the demons of war
August 5, 2016
Over the course of the summer, 160 combat-wounded veterans and their spouses will make their way to Alaska for a week of marriage enrichment. Through Biblically based marriage classes and excursions in the Alaskan wilderness, couples will have a chance to learn what Godly marriages look like and reconnect as they focus on their relationships together. … [Read more...]
A Time to Embrace
Samaritan's Purse is providing relief to refugees in Greece
July 8, 2016
Leaving doesn’t mean the stories you’ve lived leave you. “We would play with our friends and then we would go inside and study,” one boy said. “Then the bombing would start and the teachers would hide us and wouldn’t let us leave school until the bombing had stopped.” Then a bomb hit his home. … [Read more...]
Dreaming Big
How Samaritan's Purse transformed an empty field into a fully functioning hospital in the wake of the Ecuador earthquake
June 22, 2016
In the wake of a disaster, the speed of a response often means the difference between life and death. Samaritan’s Purse maintains a constant state of readiness so that when disasters strike, we can immediately mobilize a response team and bring life-saving care and supplies to those in need. … [Read more...]
Wrestling for Life
Refugees in South Sudan wrestle with life's challenges, but many have come to find joy in Christ
June 10, 2016
As David Abbi began to teach his Bible literacy lesson, he knew the two dozen adult students would identify with Abram’s journey from his home country in Haran to the land of Canaan. For them, it wasn’t just a story from the pages of Genesis. They had lived a similar journey—departing a home they had known and loved and setting out into a world of the unknown, fraught with difficulties, danger, and suffering. “God told Abram to take his family and move to a new location,” David told the … [Read more...]
The Shadow of Death
Thirteen Ebola survivors share their stories
May 25, 2016
In March 2014, Ebola virus disease was first reported in Liberia. The epidemic’s epicenter was Lofa County, nearly 300 miles from the capital and most populous city, Monrovia. As a result of traditional burial practices, a lack of leadership and healthcare, and denial, Ebola quickly spread. More than 4,800 Liberians died as a result of the disease. … [Read more...]
The Magnitude of Love
Our Emergency Field Hospital team brings physical and spiritual healing to earthquake survivors in Ecuador
May 17, 2016
On Saturday, April 16, at 6:30 p.m., families were cooking dinner, children were playing outside, and most were enjoying their normal weekend routine. They had no idea that this Saturday evening would soon deliver a devastating and deadly jolt. Just before 7 p.m., a 7.8-magnitude earthquake rocked the northern coast of Ecuador. It claimed 660 lives, injured more than 4,500 people, and leveled thousands of buildings. … [Read more...]
Caring for Bodies & Souls
Maternal and Child Health Programs in Cambodia
May 13, 2016
In the 1970s, the militant Khmer Rouge tore through Cambodia and wiped out a generation of educated citizens. In the aftermath of the genocide, many women were left in the dark, struggling without any basic knowledge of how to take care of their children. … [Read more...]
Pursuing a Higher Calling
Two families moved to Nepal to save lives. Along the way, their lives were transformed too.
March 24, 2016
Two years ago, the O'Keefes and the Riggsbees left their comfortable lives in the United States to follow the Great Physician's call to the Himalayan Mountains. Their destination-Tansen Mission Hospital in southern Nepal. … [Read more...]
Water Is Life
See our work in South Sudan for World Water Day 2016
March 22, 2016
The United Nations declared March 22 as World Water Day in 1993, to help draw attention to the vital importance of fresh, clean water. According to the U.N., some 2 billion people across the globe drink unsafe water. And every day, more than 1,000 children die from water-borne illnesses caused by dirty water and unhygienic living conditions. … [Read more...]