Public Safety, Disaster Preparedness & Relief

Forty-one-year-old Seng has been raising her two children with 162 anti-personnel landmines surrounding their home in Cambodia.

Before moving to her current home in Chob Kokir, Seng had moved around frequently, following her husband’s career. Finally settling in one place and having a home of her own was hugely important to her; it gave her the opportunity to put down roots, to cultivate land and secure a steadier income for her family.

BLOCKS believes even the smallest person can make a difference. A geography lesson about tsunamis helped ten-year old Tilly Smith save lives. Severe weather training helped 6-year-old Emily Rusnak take her baby sister to safety in the basement before a tree crashed through the roof during a derecho.

A gas explosion displaced more than 150 residents, including 36 children, from three apartment buildings in Silver Spring in March 2022.

The American Red Cross responded to assist the individuals and families impacted with emergency supplies, food, comfort kits, financial assistance, and ongoing recovery support. Health, mental health, and spiritual care services were also available.

These two girls are the same age as this volunteer's daughter back in the States. Three years ago, this woman and a team of youth volunteers built a house for the girl on the left. This girl and her two older sisters lived in a shack without a roof, with a dirt floor that turned to mud everytime if rained. Today the girl was excited to show the volunteer the home they've made from the house built so many years ago. Prior to building the home the dad was not around, but now he's back and is a loving dad, and they are a family.

Delphine Chelimo is determined to learn. She’s a 14-year-old student at Ngengechwo Primary School in rural western Kenya. Because the school is far away from her house, Delphine is a boarding student. It allows her to focus on her studies and means that she doesn’t have to make a long, dangerous journey to and from school each day.