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Humanitarian Flight to Sahel, the Sequel

Godfather II. Spiderman II. Toy Story II. Sometimes sequels surpass expectations by being as good or even better than the original. My colleagues at UPS met the sequel challenge with flying colors. UPS’s second flight of humanitarian aid was delivered successfully to the Sahel region, where millions of people face dire hunger and living conditions due to severe drought and civil unrest.

Our April flight to Sahel was in support of UNICEF. This week’s airlift is the first consolidated flight carrying goods for multiple agencies and reflects our hopes to combine resources among charitable groups for more efficient delivery of supplies.

Approximately 100 representatives from United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF),United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and World Food Programme(WFP) were on hand in Mauritania to receive the emergency supplies.

The flight from Cologne, Germany to Nouakchott, Mauritania brought:

Mobile storage units from Brindisi, Italy
School kits, mixed water kits and tarp from Copenhagen
Tarp, collapsible jerry cans, mosquito nets and sleeping mats from Copenhagen

The relief agencies will use the supplies delivered on this flight to provide:

25 basic family water kits for 1,250 people
88 schools-in-a-box providing materials for 3,520 children
108 tarpaulins for the construction of 864 latrines for 17,280 people

“It was a privilege for us to be able to help with the 46,000 Mali refugees who have fled into Mauritania,” says UPS Airlines Chief Pilot Captain Frank N. Hemko. “The reception was a wonderful introduction to the activities in Mauritania . . . The work these people are doing in Mauritania is truly amazing.”

To learn more about the situation in the Sahel Region, connect with others about this issue, or make an individual donation, go to www.unicefusa.org/sahelups.

by Deanna Cain