Hundreds of disasters and crises made the news this year. Here is a look at 10 amazing ways local, community-led organizations have responded to these events and their communities’ needs—and a look at how you can help power their life-saving work.
As you consider where to give at the end of this year or begin next year with intentions to improve your world, consider these locally led responses to some of the most pressing challenges of 2023:
In the early hours of Feb. 6, 2023, a devastating 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck along the Turkey-Syria border, killing more than 55,000 people and injuring at least 100,000 people. In the aftermath, the Guardians of Equality Movement (GEM) worked quickly to get flexible support to Syrian LGBTQ+ individuals, activists, and refugees displaced and injured by the earthquakes. Members of the LGBTQ+ community were—and are—at risk of discrimination in receiving aid for their identities.
Donate to our Turkey and Syria Earthquake Relief Fund to help people who remain displaced or in need of continued support.
Since April 2023, fighting between the Sudanese military and RSF militia has killed more than 9,000 people and displaced at least 5.6 million Sudanese, according to the United Nations. Meanwhile, reports of genocide in Darfur continue as hundreds of people are killed. With no end in sight, many Sudanese remain trapped in their homes in Khartoum without access to basic necessities or constantly on the move to evade danger. To combat this lack of access, the International Association for Hospice and Palliative Care (IAHPC) is covering internet fees for care providers and patients to enable distant consultations, paying for travel expenses to conduct face-to-face homecare wherever possible, and buying medical supplies and essential medicines for patients.
Donate to GlobalGiving’s Sudan Emergency Fund and help guarantee those frontline responders get the aid they need to continue to help Sudanese amid one of the worst crises of the present day.
In August 2023, more than 100 people died in the worst wildfires in Hawaii’s history. The disaster left dozens more injured and reduced towns to ash. As hundreds remain in shelters, traumatized from the disaster and looking to rebuild their lives, nonprofits like Ka Hale A Ke Ola Homeless Resource Centers are stepping up to ensure people have safe places to stay. As a local Hawaii-based nonprofit dedicated to breaking the cycle of homelessness in Hawaii, Ka Hale A Ke Ola knows how losing a home can impact a family. The organization continues to secure shelter for its community, even after losing its 48-unit homeless shelter and 30 rental units to the fires in Lahaina.
Giving to GlobalGiving’s Hawaii Wildfire Relief Fund means the Ka Hale A Ke Ola Homeless Resource Center’s team can continue working with other nonprofits across the island to help community members find shelter.
Heavy rains generated by Storm Daniel collapsed two dams located upstream from Derna, eastern Libya, unleashing a devastating flood in September 2023. Derna’s crisis committee has stated that the death toll is more than 20,000, which is equivalent to a fifth of the city’s population. Lawyers for Justice Libya recognized the need for justice, to advocate for the rights of Libyans affected by the flooding, and to ensure non reoccurrence of this disaster. Together with Defender Center for Human Rights, Libya Crimes Watch, and Tahra organization, Lawyers for Justice Libya co-launched an Accountability Action Group to explore accountability avenues for the corruption and negligence that exacerbated this catastrophe.
Donate to GlobalGiving’s Libya Flood Relief Fund and help ensure that as we enter 2024, Libyans still recovering from these seismic floods can get the immediate and longer-term support they need.
Three devastating earthquakes struck Afghanistan in October 2023, killing more than 1,300 people and injuring at least 1,700 others. A catastrophe like this only worsens the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the country and makes conditions more difficult for hundreds of thousands of Afghans fleeing Pakistan after the country’s latest announcement to deport undocumented people. Nonprofits like Enabled Children Initiative (ECI) stepped in to support survivors, providing emergency relief to more than 100 families with disabilities and continuing services to respond to the daily shifts of the broader crisis.
Donate to GlobalGiving’s Afghanistan Emergency Fund, which has made grants to GlobalGiving partners like ECI to fuel this work and address the needs of the estimated 28.8 million people who need immediate humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan this year.
In 2023, the humanitarian and political crisis in Haiti continued to deteriorate—with the country making headlines for surges in gang violence, funding shortfalls, and several deadly disasters. Despite the risks, and during these shifts and challenges, Asosyasyon Peyizan Fondwa (APF) continues to operate its clinic in the remote rural communities of Fondwa. APF ensures that amid violence, floods, and disease outbreaks, the community’s health needs are met.
By donating to to GlobalGiving’s Haiti Crisis Relief Fund, you can ensure partners like APF get the support they need when so many have turned their attention away from Haiti.
As the war in Ukraine approaches its second-year mark, Ukrainians’ needs are mounting. The war has already killed nearly 22,000 civilians, while 5.1 million people remain internally displaced, and 6.2 million have fled Ukraine. Alongside others, Odessa Charity Foundation Way Home has continued to evolve its responses to meet the needs of Ukrainians most impacted by the war. This includes running a temporary safe shelter for women survivors of violence, as well as collecting and distributing supplies for survivors of the Kakhovka dam blast in summer 2023.
Consider donating to GlobalGiving’s Ukraine Crisis Relief Fund so partners like Odessa Charity Foundation Way Home can continue meeting the day-to-day needs of communities while also helping to build resources for longer-term recovery efforts.
Six years after tens of thousands of people fled Myanmar’s Rakhine State, nearly 1 million Rohingya refugees now remain in Bangladesh. After living in camps with shrinking humanitarian aid and protections, some have begun risking their lives and taking boats to seek asylum in surrounding countries. In August 2023, flash floods impacted 15,000 refugees and 300,000 in host communities. The floods left people without food and shelter and exposed them to dengue and other waterborne diseases. With longstanding health programs in the area, organizations like Friendship stepped up to treat thousands of patients in the aftermath of the floods.
Donate to our Rohingya Refugee Relief Fund to help nonprofits like Friendship not only protect Rohingya and host communities after disaster strikes but also each day between.
Across East Africa, more than 62 million people remain food insecure. Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan, and Sudan are among the “most severe” global food crises in the world. Serious concern for worsening conditions persists amid funding shortfalls, violent conflict, and forecasted above-average rainfall driven by El Niño. In Kenya, Drylands Natural Resources Centre (DNRC) is collaborating with more than 800 farmers and 12 schools to educate community members on climate change-resistant farming and harvesting best practices, while operating food gardens to directly combat malnutrition.
Donate to GlobalGiving’s East Africa Hunger Relief Fund, which has made grants to GlobalGiving partners like DNRC to support this vital work.
Many parts of the world saw their highest recorded heat indexes this year, and countries like Chile face their worst droughts in decades. Meanwhile, epic ocean storms and flooding have drenched countries like Bangladesh and Pakistan, washing away entire communities. It has been the worst year on record for billion-dollar climate disasters in the United States. Nonprofits like EcoLogic Development Fund empower rural and Indigenous peoples to restore and protect tropical ecosystems in Central America and Mexico, which combats climate change, food insecurity, and livelihood loss.
Give to our Climate Action Fund to help our partners, like EcoLogic Development Fund, continue to protect our planet, mitigate against climate change, and adapt to the ongoing shifts.
Looking for a way to help people affected by the top headlines in 2023?
Find a project that matters to you today and support a better future for tomorrow.
Find exactly what you're looking for in our Learn Library by searching for specific words or phrases related to the content you need.
