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WER Is Needed WER receives daily requests for commodities and grant support for programs. Untold millions of people - and the programs helping them - need practical resources to make their lives successful. Starving children need food. The sick need medicine. Farmers need seed. Those who are naked and shivering need clothing. At-risk communities need fire trucks. When disasters such as earthquakes and hurricanes occur, the victims need emergency relief aid. Women and children who are sexually abused exploited need freedom and healing.
What We Do WER's global family works with local organizations to fight poverty and hunger, and provide relief for victims of disaster, conflict and despair. Since 1991, WER has been a leader in promoting the responsible and ethical use of Gifts-In-Kind (GIK) at our own projects worldwide, as well as projects we share with other outreaches. In addition to providing immediate emergency relief, WER develops programs offering long-term support. Adequate health care, nutrition, education and vocational training assist future generations in breaking destructive cycles and healing their communities.
Our Gifts-In-Kinds (GIK) Process In real terms, the process is extremely complicated. After receiving a request, we verify both the community's needs and the cultural appropriateness of the supplies we can procure. We then seek those supplies from corporate donors and other charities. Before shipping, we check that supplies are safe and usable, and we often must obtain import permission from foreign embassies in the US. We must negotiate for commodities and then arrange for timely shipping to a US. port, while also minimizing local storage charges. What if the product requires government inspection before we can export it? Then we must contend with shipping lines and dock problems. Once back on land, our supplies must clear local customs and reach our project perhaps several hundred miles away. Our commodities must then be properly stored and prepared before “Distribution Day,” when WER makes certain our supplies are fairly distributed to people in actual need, with no black market shenanigans. Finally, our local partners must report back on how our goods were distributed and what specific benefits were observed. It's a long struggle to get 25,000 pounds of baby food from New Orleans to an orphanage in Africa. But when we hear the grateful “thanks” from people we help, we understand how our efforts answer prayer. And we also realize we’ve multiplied donor's “charitable punch” over ten-fold. It’s the classic “win-win” situation which blesses everyone. For more about our GIK process, please view our GIK Frequently Asked Questions page.
Using Your Donations Wisely Efficiency is one of our goals. WER works alongside established local organizations who intimately know the people's needs and situation, allowing us to focus our resources on programs and supplies. Generous donors provide us with Gifts in Kind (GIK) such as food, clothing, and medical supplies. These factors combined greatly magnify our potential; most years, for every $1 donation we receive, we send about $22 worth of aid!
WER Media Kit About
WER
WER Media Articles USAID “Ocean Freight Reimbursement Success Stories: World Emergency Relief (WER) helps
upgrade hospitals and clinics in Guatemala”
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