Stories

In mid-October, I traveled with Katie Mears, our Program Manager for US Disaster Preparedness and Response, to the town of West Pittston, Pennsylvania.  West Pittston had suffered severe flooding after Hurricane Irene in 2011, when the Susquehanna River overflowed its banks. 

Most disasters have three distinct, if sometimes overlapping phases: Rescue, Relief and Recovery. The Rescue phase is focused on saving lives and securing property, and is most acute in those parts of our region that were directly flooded or destroyed by fires.  This work is generally done

We face a difficult and cold weekend here in the Tri-State area. The initial devastation of Hurricane Sandy has been shocking.  Now, however, we are entering a slow-motion disaster as much of the region remains without power, and therefore heat, as the weather cools.  Civil authorities

It was “In House” this week at Episcopal Relief & Development, which is when all of our staff, including from the Ghana regional office and satellite locations around the US, get together at the church center here in New York.  It’s always exciting to see everyone together

Last week, World Food Day was internationally recognized in a number of ways . However, the biggest celebration (to my knowledge) kicked off in Des Moines, Iowa, on Tuesday, with the World Food Prize International Symposium. This annual event brought together over 1,000 dignitaries, politicians, 

October 15 is Blog Action Day, and this year’s theme is “The Power of We.” I can’t think of a better example of the power of collective spirit than an agricultural initiative in the Solomon Islands.  In the isolated Ontong Java atoll, rising sea levels are both