CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- North Carolina-based Samaritan's Purse will load more than 90 tons of emergency supplies onto a cargo jet at Charlotte-Douglas Airport to help North Korean flood victims on Friday.
“[The flooding] is something that happens almost annually. Because of North Korea being such a closed place, the news media doesn’t hear about it,” explained Barry Hall, with Samaritan's Purse.
Recent flooding killed dozens of people and left thousands homeless in the Kangwon, North Hwanghae and South Hwanghae provinces of the Democratic Republic of North Korea (DPRK).
The heavy rains in these regions have caused severe damage to farmland and infrastructure and forecasts are calling for the weather pattern to continue.
The airlift is phase one of a coordinated relief effort led by Samaritan's Purse with assistance from the U.S. Government (USAID) and four other international relief organizations: Christian Friends of Korea, Global Resource Services, Mercy Corps and World Vision. Samaritan's Purse was created more than 40 years ago by Franklin Graham, Billy Graham's son. Graham was at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport today to send-off the flight.
“We want [North Koreans] to know this is coming from churches and Christians here in America, and we care for them. We pray for them," Graham said.
USAID granted $900,000 to help with the emergency effort and Samaritan's Purse added another $1.2 million to make the airlift possible.
