Chris Clarke: Disaster response shows Kiwis' generosity

The plight of Syrian refugees is the focus of the Forgotten Millions campaign.

Opinion

The past week has demonstrated the profound depth of the generosity of Kiwis.

Last week World Vision and the New Zealand Herald launched The Forgotten Millions, a three-week campaign to raise money for those affected by the Syrian crisis. And then on Friday night, Cyclone Pam slammed into Vanuatu, causing catastrophic damage affecting tens of thousands of people already living in poverty.

The sheer devastation in Vanuatu, coupled with the existing work we do there, meant we had no choice but to act and again go to the New Zealand public to raise funds to support our emergency response there.

We wondered about the consequences of running two major humanitarian appeals simultaneously - would we see donor fatigue from the NZ public?

Our apprehension was unjustified. You have responded in the most incredible way to World Vision and other agencies, and we have been deeply moved by your generosity. This week New Zealanders have stood beside the people of Vanuatu and Syria and have proven that the human heart is always capable of empathising with more than one cause.

This is a reassuring thing when we consider the many challenges this world will continue to face.

Last year, World Vision International responded to 132 emergencies across 72 nations, reaching nearly 11 million people.

This breadth is quite remarkable, and is also putting immense strain on organisations such as World Vision who are committed to responding to emergencies.

Unfortunately 2014 was not a one-off, but an indication of things to come. If we project current global activity out for the next 10 to 15 years we can predict many more humanitarian disasters.

We are already starting to see signs of some large global shifts, driven by changes in demography, ecology, politics, economics, and technology.

The rise of middle-income countries, rural to urban drift, climate change and fragile states are prominent features of the global landscape and all carry a significant burden for the wider international community.

Increasingly we are going to need to come together as an international community and as a nation of compassionate and justice-seeking people and work to both mitigate and respond to this changing global landscape.

This responsibility can at times seem overwhelming, and 2015 has so far been no exception.

But this week we are heartened, and the public response to these two emergencies has strengthened our belief that promoting peace not war, securing a sustainable environment and fighting for the eradication of poverty are not unachievable goals.

We have seen that amid the heartache of human suffering we can find hope.

We have seen that New Zealanders can be part of both the solution and response to many of the global issues we face.

Ultimately, this week, World Vision made the decision to go where we are needed most.

And this week, Kiwis came with us. Thank you.

• Chris Clarke is chief executive of World Vision New Zealand.