Organization deploys staff to Louisiana and Mississippi to ensure children’s needs are being addressed in this crisis
Save the Children’s emergency response experts are on the ground in Louisiana and Mississippi, providing basic necessities and establishing child-friendly environments within shelters along the storm-ravaged Gulf Coast. This week, Hurricane Isaac caused strong winds, flooding and heavy rainfall in the region, forcing families to seek safety in shelters.
“Children are always the most vulnerable in an emergency situation, so Save the Children makes sure there are safe places for children in evacuation centers,” said Jeanne-Aimée De Marrais, who is leading Save the Children’s response team in Louisiana. “We have provided local shelters throughout the Gulf region with our Child Friendly Space kits and the training they need to help children deal with this traumatic experience.”
After Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast seven years ago, Save the Children assisted more than 200,000 children affected by the storm, emerging as the national leader for children in disaster response. “Through our preparedness, response and recovery programs, we have put the unmet needs of children and their caregivers first,” said De Marrais.
About Save the Children
Save the Children works to break the cycle of poverty and improve the lives of children by ensuring they have the resources they need—access to quality education, healthy foods, and opportunities to grow and develop in a nurturing environment. When disasters strike, like hurricanes and wildfires, Save the Children is among the first on the ground, ensuring the needs of children are being met.
In the United States, Save the Children’s early childhood education, literacy, physical activity and nutrition, and emergency response programs reached more than 185,000 children last year alone. For more information, visit www.savethechildren.org/usa.
