Coleen is 3. She lives with her four siblings and her parents in a house made from a few sheets of tin and plywood perched on a riverbank. Every year there are floods, and Coleen 's house has been destroyed twice since 2010. Coleen and her neighbors live in constant fear of the floods, and they often have to evacuate. Evacuation is frightening and stressful, but you can make it easier by giving us the funds we need to stockpile food and drinking water for Coleen and evacuees like her.
Coleen and her family have already lost their home and their possessions multiple times, but the physical loss isn't the most devastating part of living with floods - it's the constant fear. Their house isn't safe when the floodwaters come, as they inevitably will, and when they have to evacuate they can't take anything with them - not even food. In past years, they've had to go without until floodwaters receded. That makes evacuation frightening, dangerous and uncomfortable.
By providing the funds we need to stockpile food and water you'll take the fear out of evacuation for Coleen, her family, and families like hers. With your help, they'll know their basic needs will be met during times of crisis.
Many families don't evacuate during floods because they fear being trapped without food and water. By stockpiling these basic needs ahead of time, families will be able to evacuate without fear. If we can encourage early evacuation, we can save lives.