Operation Blessing (2011 Japan Eathquake/Tsunami)

FROM EMAIL -

in Japan, as hundreds of families pass week after week in temporary shelters while cleanup efforts continue, the frustration of doing without the basic comforts of everyday life is beginning to build. Many have returned to their homes to gather personal belongings—only to find they’d been completely stolen by the sea.

That’s why OBI has made such a concerted effort to help restore as much of a sense of normalcy as possible for Japan’s families. So far that’s included:
View the latest photos from our Japan relief efforts

* Delivering large shipments of rice, the mainstay of most families’ daily diets
* Holding eyeglass clinics to provide thousands of prescription and reading glasses, one of the most common items lost in the tsunami
* Shipping in custom-built generators to the Urato Islands, which were without power for weeks after the tsunami
* Providing sorely-needed washing machines and a refrigerator to Sabusawa Island and Nonojima Island

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FROM RELIEF WEB:

Operation Blessing International preparing to deploy medical team to Japan from
BLOG -
March 14, 2011
http://www.myowneyes.org/smell-of-fear-hangs-heavy/

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Philippines office

Source: Operation Blessing International
Date: 11 Mar 2011

VIRGINIA BEACH, VA (March 11, 2011) Operation Blessing International (OBI), the 6th largest international humanitarian organization and first responder to many major disasters, is preparing to deploy a medical team to Japan from the charity's Manila office.

The leader of the team is Dr. Kim Pascual, executive vice president and chief operating officer for Operation Blessing Philippines. Dr. Kim has led the organization's crisis response teams in Iraq, Indonesia, Philippines and various other areas of the world. Joining the Operation Blessing team will be members of IsraAid, an Israeli humanitarian organization that OBI has partnered with for earthquake relief in Haiti in 2010. The Operation Blessing-IsraAid teams are currently staging at the Operation Blessing Philippines office located in Manila, preparing their gear and supplies until they are ready to deploy in the coming days.

OBI is also poised to send medical and humanitarian relief supplies from locations in the U.S.A. either by ship or aircraft, and possibly deploy additional personnel from the Philippines and other locations into the hard-hit area.

For more information please log on to www.ob.org.

ABOUT OPERATION BLESSING INTERNATIONAL:

Operation Blessing International (OBI) is one of the largest charities in America, providing strategic disaster relief, medical aid, hunger relief, clean water and community development in 23 countries around the world on a daily basis. OBI was awarded Charity Navigator's coveted 4 star rating for sound fiscal management for the fifth year in a row (2009), a feat that only 4% of rated charities have ever achieved. In November 2010, Forbes named OBI as the 6th most efficient charity in America. Additionally, the Chronicle of Philanthropy currently ranks OBI as the 23rd largest charity and the 6th largest international charity. Founded in 1978, Operation Blessing International has touched the lives of more than 235 million people in more than 105 countries and 50 states, providing goods and services valued at over $2.7 billion to date.

Operation Blessing has worked extensively in the Philippines for over a decade. Under the direction of Dr. Kim Pascual, the charity has earned the Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) of the Year by the Philippines government four times in recent years.