Emergency and rehabilitation specialist Eric Weerts has been lending his support to disabled people’s organisations involved in the humanitarian relief effort in Myanmar. Accompanied by a logistics expert, Eric has managed to visit areas still under water, particularly in the south of the country, in the Irrawaddy river delta.
For the first time since the Ebola epidemic began more than a year ago, no new contaminations have been reported in Sierra Leone for two weeks. This is a very encouraging new development in the fight against the virus, which has already infected nearly 30,000 people (almost half in Sierra Leone), more than 10,000 of whom have died. Magalie Vairetto, who has been working on Handicap International’s Ebola programme since January 2015, tells us more about these hopeful signs and the need to remain vigilant at this stage in the epidemic.
Four months after Nepal was struck by an earthquake, over 2.8 million people are still in need of help. Handicap International continues to support vulnerable people in remote communities that have become increasingly inaccessible due to the monsoon.
Renato, his wife, and their six children are finally back at home in their newly-repaired house. It has been over one year since typhoon Haiyan, one of the most severe typhoons in history, swept across the Philippines killing almost 8,000 people and destroying many homes, including Renato’s. His family is one of 200 households to have benefited from a project implemented by Handicap International in the province of Leyte, which aims to help with the reconstruction process. Thanks to Handicap International, the head of the household has been able to return to work.
A drop in new cases, the start of the rainy season, and prospects for a possible vaccine have changed the way the campaign against the Ebola virus is being fought. Recently back from Sierra Leone, Jérôme Besnier, the director of our Ebola programme, tells us more about this changing context.
Around the world, about 1 in 8 people are over the age of 60, and 15% of the world population is living with some kind of disability. In emergencies, older people and people with disabilities thus make up a significant part of the affected population. Moreover, the risk of disability often increases as a result of conflict or natural disaster, due to injuries and poor health care. For example, a survey by HelpAge and Handicap International found that 22% of Syrian refugees in Jordan and Lebanon had an impairment.
Glody, 2, lives in Kinshasa, in the Democratic Republic of Congo. He was born with a neck deformity the size of a football, which made even the slightest movements difficult. With support from Handicap International, Glody has now been operated on. He attends rehabilitation sessions and has got the spring back in his step.
Peter lives in Trans-Nzoia County, western Kenya. Although only 15, he is highly driven and a committed member of his community. Peter, who is deaf and uses sign language, is a sports captain and often top of his class. The ambitious young man is also playing a leading role in Handicap International’s Ubuntu Care project, fighting to eradicate sexual violence against children.
Fanta, 8, lives with her parents and her little brother in Kono district, Sierra Leone. Last year, she went to school for the very first time. But the Ebola virus closed schools across the country, including hers.
In 2013, Nak, 15, stepped on a mine while he was working as a wood-cutter in the forest. For a teenage boy whose survival depends on his physical skills, the subsequent loss of his leg was a very real tragedy. The prostheses provided by Handicap International and his enrolment on an occupational training course have renewed his faith in the future.
1st August 2015 is the 5th anniversary of the entry into force of the Oslo Convention banning the use, production, stockpiling and transfer of cluster munitions. Despite the clear success of the convention, which has been signed by 117 countries to date, cluster munitions were still being used in conflicts in 2015.
When Typhoon Haiyan tore across the Philippines in November 2013, Erlinda was left without a means to earn her livelihood. As part of Handicap International’s livelihood project, she was given a sow in October 2014 and trained to manage this value resource. Since then, Erlinda has made a lot of progress and now has a brand new pigsty and 14 piglets.
More than 8,800 people were killed and over 22,000 were injured in the earthquake, which struck Nepal in April 2015. Nearly one million homes were also destroyed or damaged.
Irma was 11 when her life changed forever. She was out gathering wood to make brooms which her family sold to make a living. Suddenly, there was a loud explosion.
