Samaritan's Purse sending another cargo jet of aid to Philippines typhoon victims

747 jet will carry materials to build shelters for 18,000 families, plus a helicopter to help the Christian agency quickly transport relief supplies and disaster response personnel

CALGARY, Dec. 5, 2013 /CNW/ - Samaritan's Purse is sending another cargo jet to the Philippines to assist Super Typhoon Haiyan victims. The Boeing 747 will contain enough plastic sheeting to build individual emergency shelters for 18,000 families, plus a helicopter to efficiently transport relief supplies and disaster response personnel throughout the Philippines' heavily damaged islands.

The plane will depart Friday from Charlotte, North Carolina. Samaritan's Purse sent a similar cargo jet carrying 100 tonnes of emergency equipment and medical supplies to the Philippines on Nov. 16, and is planning another mercy flight later this month.

"The homes of many typhoon victims were completely destroyed, and many other homes were heavily damaged, and so the additional shelter materials we are sending on the flight tomorrow are urgently needed", said Brent Davis, disaster response manager for Samaritan's Purse Canada.

"Also, getting staff and supplies to remote areas of need continues to be a major obstacle, and so the helicopter—which fulfilled a similar role for a long period after the 2010 earthquake in Haiti—is a key part of our Philippines response."

The helicopter will help Samaritan's Purse deliver aid on Bantayan, Leyte, and Cebu Islands. It will transport the Christian relief organization's staff and volunteers, plus emergency equipment and supplies including shelter materials, hygiene kits, and food packages to typhoon survivors

"We have been able to respond quickly, bringing help and hope to thousands of hurting people—and we have our Canadian donors and supporters to thank for that," said Fred Weiss, Executive Director of Samaritan's Purse Canada. "This helicopter will strengthen our ability to reach those most in need."

Samaritan's Purse was on the ground one day after Super Typhoon Haiyan devastated much of the central Philippines. Since then, the organization has distributed over 16,000 tarps (emergency shelter for families, schools, and churches) and more than 18,000 food and hygiene kits. It has also set up eight community filtration systems, each providing as much as 40,000 liters of clean water each day.

In addition, Samaritan's Purse is helping restore health services at a storm-damaged hospital in Palo, Leyte, in response to a request from the Philippines government. Samaritan's Purse set up a mobile field hospital on the site and its medical personnel are working at the facility and also in remote communities where no health services are available.

Donations Needed - Dec. 23 Deadline for Federal Matching
Go to SamaritansPurse.ca or call 1-800-663-6500 to donate. December 23 is the deadline for donations to be eligible for matching by the Canadian government.

Learn more about Samaritan's Purse's Philippines relief efforts at SamaritansPurse.ca, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and YouTube.

About Samaritan's Purse Canada
Samaritan's Purse Canada is an international Christian relief and development organization working in about 40 countries to help victims of war, disease, disaster, poverty, famine, and persecution. We also operate the well-known Operation Christmas Child program that sends gift-filled shoeboxes to needy children around the world each year. In addition, we build and install thousands of life-saving BioSand Water Filters in the developing world. For more information, visit SamaritansPurse.ca.

SOURCE: Samaritan's Purse Canada