His day job is helping run a successful auto dealership in Seattle, Washington - selling Jettas and everything else Nissan and Volkswagen has to offer.
Kurt Campbell has another passion, though: Sri Lanka. A few months ago, he didn't even know where the island nation was. Once her heard about the plight of civilians enduring a civil war, though, he had to take action.
First, he donated to help begin World Concern's disaster relief efforts and bring life-saving aid to families who have lost it all. Then he felt the call and had the opportunity to go to the front lines and see World Concern at work.
"The work is amazing. This is saving lives," Kurt says.
See the news release about what he did.
Join him to support desperate families in Sri Lanka.
In displacement camps set up in schools, factories and tents, thousands of traumatized Sri Lankans survive on meager rations and wait to return back home.
For some, it may be a month. For others it may be years.
“Just because the war is over doesn’t mean that the needs are over,” said Merry Fitzpatrick, humanitarian organization World Concern’s director of disaster response.
World Concern has assisted more than 23,000 people who have been affected, many of them civilians wounded during the 26-year-long civil war, which ended last month.
For about 8,000 displaced people living in four camps, World Concern is providing the basics, depending on the need. It usually includes food, clothes, even toilets.
Donate to Sri Lanka relief efforts
Those living in displacement camps are of the Tamil ethnic minority. Sri Lankan soldiers are watching people in the camps to try and identify members of the Tamil Tigers, the group with members widely considered to be terrorists, which fought for an independent homeland for the Tamil people.
Outside of displacement camps, World Concern has worked with medical professionals to supply hospitals with the basics supplies to serve more than 1,000 people. Aid may include bed sheets, toiletries, hospital supplies, food and water.
“We are working with the neediest of the needy, people who can’t do anything for themselves,” said Fitzpatrick. “People who have lost limbs, have internal injuries, maybe they have lost blood, have infections. A lot of them are burned.”
These hospitals include established facilities, as well as makeshift emergency clinics. In a garment factory, World Concern has assisted nearly 200 injured and nearly 600 other displaced people.
“We need more money,” she says. “Families need better food, better living conditions – like showers – even clothes and places to eat.”
Press release with US and Sri Lanka contact information
