International Rescue Committee (IRC)

Asia

Sarah Wayne Callies: Floods


March 27, 2012
By Sarah Wayne Callies

One of the strengths of the IRC and Ban Mai Nai Soi has been their ability to tap the intellectual capital of the refugees for the betterment of the entire camp.

Photo: Peter Biro/IRC
Posted in , , , | Tags: , , , , ,
1 comment

Sarah Wayne Callies in Thailand, day 2

Actress and IRC Voice Sarah Wayne Callies recently visited Thai camps on the border with Myanmar, also known as Burma, where the International Rescue Committee assists Burmese refugees who have fled conflict and economic hardship at home. Here are some of her impressions from the second day of her visit. (Posted March 27, 2012)

27 Mar 2012

Sarah Wayne Callies in Thailand, day 1

Actress and IRC Voice Sarah Wayne Callies recently visited Thai camps on the border with Myanmar, also known as Burma, where the International Rescue Committee assists Burmese refugees who have fled conflict and economic hardship at home. Here are some of her impressions from the first day of her visit.  (Published March 26, 2012)

26 Mar 2012

Photo Share: New water pump, Pakistan


March 22, 2012
By Ned Colt
Photo: Ned Colt/IRC
SINDH PROVINCE, Pakistan -
Posted in , , | Tags: , , ,

No comments yet.

Sarah Wayne Callies: Cycles


March 16, 2012
By Sarah Wayne Callies

Since people seek refuge in Ban Mai Nai Soi camp because they are fleeing violence, any nascent sense of hope and safety is easily undermined when they feel threatened or are violated.

Photo: Peter Biro/IRC
Posted in , , , , , | Tags: , , , ,

No comments yet.

Sarah Wayne Callies: Mubi’s girls


March 8, 2012
By Sarah Wayne Callies

IRC Voice Sarah Wayne Callies with Annabelle Mubi (left), who runs the IRC's women's protection and empowerment programs in the Site One refugee camp on the Thailand-Myanmar border.

Photo: Peter Biro/IRC
Posted in , , , , | Tags: , , , , , , ,
2 comments

Pakistan's rural women

Submitted by Ned Colt on March 8, 2012 - 7:47am
Date: 
March 7, 2012

In rural Pakistan, women play an important role in every aspect of family, culture, work and life. The IRC's Ned Colt met several generations of women from one family in a village where we've been helping residents recover from the devastating floods which inundated close to a fifth of the country in 2010. 

IRC and Japanese aid partners offer a lifeline for tsunami survivors

With support from the IRC, the aid group Japanese Emergency NGO (JEN) is helping fishermen get back to work. These fishermen received aid to restart fish farms on the devastated Oshika peninsula. (Photo: Peter Biro/IRC)

Japan tsunami recovery

  • <p>A year after the disaster, Japan&rsquo;s coastal cities are still filled with rubble. Recovered photo albums and other keepsakes have been placed near the entrances of the few buildings that still stand.</p>
  • <p>A fisherman harvests abalone in Minami Sanriku, a once thriving fishing village where some 9,500 people perished.</p>
  • <p>Nearly a quarter of Japan&#39;s population is 65 or older. Losing family members, homes and possessions has made the elderly even more vulnerable and dependent on outside help. Here, staff members from the Japanese aid group Association for Aid and Relief (AAR) spend time with elderly survivors at a nursing home, near the city of Rikuzentakata.</p>
  • <p>Following the disaster, this nursing home provided shelter to about 600 people. The AAR, with the IRC&rsquo;s support, has helped repair the home as well as distribute food to the elderly.</p>
  • <p>AAR&rsquo;s Honda Masumi walks among the ruins of what was once a school in the city of Kamaishi. The city&rsquo;s breakwater, recognized by the Guinness World Records as the world&rsquo;s deepest, was destroyed by the tsunami.</p>
  • <p>As part of a health program for the elderly, AAR&rsquo;s Honda Masumi massages an elderly woman in an evacuation center near the city of Kamaishi.</p>
  • <p>Children at the Karakuwa elementary school in Kesennuma prepare for a school performance. The IRC and its partner Peace Winds Japan equipped the school with furniture and other items.</p>
  • <p>Waka Ueno, 86, lost her home in the tsunami. She now lives in an evacuation center in the fishing hamlet of Hakozaki.</p>
  • <p>With support from the IRC, the aid group Japanese Emergency NGO (JEN) is helping fishermen get back to work. These fishermen received aid to restart fish farms on the devastated Oshika peninsula.</p>
  • <p>JEN and the IRC are helping fishermen replace equipment and local tradesmen to manufacture new fishing tools. Here, Motomu Suenaga teaches a young fisherman, Fumiyuki Abe, how to make a traditional fishnet.</p>
  • <p>&nbsp;</p><p class="p1">The IRC&#39;s Japan advisor, Shinko Tana, hands over snow blowers, shovels and other equipment to Tadamitsu Wakasaki, deputy mayor of the tsunami-stricken city of Kamaishi.</p>
  • <p>After the tsunami hit the city of Rikuzentakata, the Seisho-kan vocational center, which served mentally and physically disabled people, was inundated with people seeking help. The ARR handed out food, heaters and other supplies. A year after the disaster, Satoshi Chiba (above) is able to resume his work printing billboards and stickers.</p>
Launch Slideshow

On Japan’s tsunami-devastated northeast coast, the IRC is helping Japanese aid groups support the elderly and people with disabilities; supply people living on remote islands with food, fuel, tents, blankets and other critical supplies; and help kick-start the fishing industry.

Story and photos by the IRC's Peter Biro (Published Mar. 6, 2012)

All IRC Slideshows >
All Emergency Response, Japan Slideshows >

Photo Essay: Japan, One year on >

By Peter Biro

Photo Share: Lunchtime, Thailand


March 5, 2012
By The IRC
Photo: Peter Biro/IRC
Posted in , , , | Tags: , ,

No comments yet.

Sarah Wayne Callies: Good medicine


March 2, 2012
By Sarah Wayne Callies

IRC Voice Sarah Wayne Callies with the IRC's Dr. Hnin Phyu (left), talking with a patient in an IRC-supported clinic on the Thailand-Myanmar border.

Photo: Peter Biro/IRC
Posted in , , , | Tags: , , , , , , ,
2 comments
Syndicate content