Douglas Phillips Mrs.

Davis ENGL 1213 30 September 2013 Blessings Operation

Introduction:
Earth is inhabited by more than 7.1 billion people. That is 7.1 million mouths to feed and backs to clothe. The human race was put on Earth to live together, to work as one, to worship God, and to rear future generations. As Winston Churchill once said If the human race wishes to have a prolonged and indefinite period of material prosperity, they have only got to behave in a peaceful and helpful way toward one another . Unfortunately this is not the case. Operation Blessing International (OBI) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) humanitarian organization with a mission to demonstrate Gods love by alleviating human need and suffering in the United States and around the world (About). The organization also has an extensive program for purifying water around the world. Since 1978 OBI has provided strategic relief, hunger relief, clean water, medical assistance, and much more. They are one of the leading disaster relief organizations in the United States and were named one of Americas Top Charities by Consumers Digest based on financial efficiency. My proposal is for you to donate your time, money, and resources, to end human suffering, through Operation Blessing International

Cause and Population:

The services this organization provides caters to everyone across the street and around the world. From 1980 2010 there have been 640 natural disaster events in the United States alone. These events killed more than 12000 people, affected more that 26 million people, and more than 544 million in damages. More than 80 percent of the worlds population lives on less than $10 a day and around 27-28 percent of all children in developing countries are estimated to be underweight or stunted. The two regions that account for the bulk of the deficit are South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. If current trends continue, the Millennium Development Goals target of halving the proportion of underweight children will be missed by 30 million children, largely because of slow progress in Southern Asia and sub-Saharan Africa (Shah). This is largely due to the scarce or unclean drinking water. Operation Blessing is one of the global leaders in addressing these issues. The need for organizations like Operation Blessing is huge, not only in the United States but also around the world.

Case History of the Cause:

This cause has impacted the lives of millions of people as well as my own life. Operation Blessing has helped the people of Moore OK after an F5 tornado destroyed their city. I was blessed to be a part of this organization for just a brief time. My family and I went to moor a week after the tornadoes went through. We partnered with Operation Blessing and a local Church to help with cleanup. They were extremely organized and well-funded. Tools were provide. OBI employs people full time as organizers and leaders. People could just go up to the church tells the workers of OBI what their need was and they filled out a work order.

We were part of cleaning up a mans house so that he could start the rebuild process. It was an honor and a blessing to help restore these peoples lives and get them one step closer to normalcy. Seeing first-hand what the people of Moor, OK had experienced was devastating. Seeing what the community and people outside of the community were doing to help was inspiring. On our trip we were able to experience something that I will never forget. Operation Blessing completely restored a familys home. Rebuilt some walls, put a new roof on and bought them all new furniture. During the remodel Operation Blessing sent the family on a vacation. The house was completed and the family got to see their new house the day that we were there. I felt as if I was on extreme makeover. It was the most emotionally exciting thing I had ever experienced. It was also one of the most motivating. Although we were cleanup crew, we were critical part in the end result of a family getting to come back home.

Support of the Cause:

Operation Blessing has a great base for support. Many private donors as well as companies and they also do fundraising. More than 98% of Operation Blessing expenses are the humanitarian programs. OB also gets a lot of support from the churches they operate out of. OB used a church in Moore as its disaster headquarters for all of Moore. The members of the church fed all of the volunteers and the OB staff every day. The Church and the community also provided gloves, tools, trash bags, water, snacks, and various other supplies.

Social Medias Supporting Role:

Social medias role in Operation Blessings success is huge. People have learned of them and given either time or money because of Facebook and twitter. OBs website is very

informative and allows people to donate for causes around the world. Improvements to a good thing can always be made. I believe there should be the ability to donate to a specific cause on their website. They should also do more reaching out on social networks to get their name out there.

Why Chose Blessing:

OBI is not just involved in peoples needs in other countries but also suffering families right at home in the United States. OBI focuses most of its hunger relief efforts here in the United States supplying more than 55 truckloads a week to needy Americans. As well as supplying food at home OBI also supports more than 20 other countries. The safe water programs are a huge focus of OBI. A need in Haiti arose after a huge earthquake. The ability to get clean drinking water is already difficult without a natural disaster to aggravate the situation. OBI responded with their ask dont tell policy (Who). When they arrive at a disaster they ask what do you need and provide it. In Haiti they asked what do you need and were told safe drinking water. OBI responded by flying in 35 water filtration and chlorination units, each capable of producing about 700 gallons of safe water per hour. These units are maintained by OBI and are still in use today. Medicine and medical outreach is another one of the many services provided by OBI. They operate this in a completely different mindset than most other organizations. OBI has capitalized and stretched the donor dollar, enabling them to gain leverage and get the most out of what they have. Instead of providing doctors and nurses to the needy, OBI builds facilities where they host a medical team. They also provide free medication in countries where not even the giant hospitals can afford it. This has a huge impact on countries like India where OBI treats 50,000 patients a month.

In 2012, OBI responded to over 60 natural disasters in over 16 different countries. In Japan after a tsunami the need was electricity. After this need was met OBI asked what do you need now? The Japanese responded that the communities affected by the tsunami relied heavily on fishing. Operation Blessing provided that community with boats, nets, and anchors. Children at risk built a school in Kenya for a Mesi tribe that had to send their children miles just to attend school the children were afraid to walk because the lions might eat them or the elephants might step on them.

Conclusion:
Operation Blessing is a purely humanitarian group whos only wish is to better the lives of the human race. I believe that if every human being gave to an organization like this that the world would be a better place to live. It is

Works Cited "About Us." Operation Blessing. Operation Blessing International, n.d. Web. 26 Sept. 2013.

Shah, Anup. Poverty Facts and Stats. Global Issues. 07 Jan. 2013. Web. 03 Oct. 2013. http://www.globalissues.org/article/26/poverty-facts-and-stats.

"Water.org." Waterorg. Water.org, n.d. Web. 23 Sept. 2013.

Who Is Operation Blessing. Perf. Bill Horan. Youtube.com. Operation Blessing International, 1 Nov. 2007. Web. 26 Sept. 2013.