Children are most at risk in Mozambique.
Satow, speaking from Mozambique, says, "120,000 people were displaced from their homes, 50-percent whom were children. The Zambezi Valley is completely water logged and people are stuck on patches of dry land. And, given it's their rainy season it's likely they'll be there at least another month."
According to Satow, the conditions are appalling. "There's no clean water, no water to drink. They've lost their harvest, so they're going to have food shortages in the future. On top of this flooding there's been a cyclone. All of these disasters have hit a country that's one of the poorest in Africa" she says.
The cyclone killed four people.
World Vision is there assisting with humanitarian aid. "World Vision staff has provided food, water purification tablets, survival kits, tents and mosquito nets because that's a real issue with a lot of standing water. There's a real concern about malaria. Malaria is already the number one killer disease in Mozambique."
The devastation has yet to hit the international media spotlight, which is causing problems raising money for the relief effort.
Satow is asking people to pray. "We need prayers for the people who are stuck out on these islands. It's torrential rain right now. I can't describe how hard it's raining. We're actually sleeping outside in tents right now and I think it's going to be a wet night," Satow says.
While there are secular organizations helping with relief, World Vision is helping for one reason. "It comes out of a commitment to Christ. Christ always had a heart for the most vulnerable and I think the staff of World Vision has that as their starting commitment."
Pray that the staff will be able to communicate the commitment as they help. Funding is need to help facilitate this. Go to WorldVision.org to contribute.
