To support the aid work in Japan, CARE Germany-Luxembourg e.V. is collecting funds for CARE Japan. Help is needed urgently. Read here parts of the latest messages from CARE Japan:

“Tokyo, March 16, 2011. …One of the media agencies reported that the number of the displaced people is approximately 530,000 and 2,400 shelters have been set up. It is estimated the casualties and missing would exceed ten and twenty thousands.

In response to this situation, CARE Japan has began establish emergency fund. Whereas the access to the affected region is highly difficult, we will utilize the experience of 65 years of emergency missions around the world to organise an immediate response. As first step, CARE Japan is sending a convoy of three vehicles packed with relief items to the destroyed area of Iwate prefecture in North Japan to assist people affected by the massive earthquake and tsunami. “It is a huge challenge at the moment to procure much-needed food, water and sanitary items. However, we managed to source supplies from Western Japan which we will distribute to affected families in an emergency shelter in Kamaishi city”, says Katsuhiko Takeda, National Director of CARE Japan.

In this severe condition, displaced people are helping and giving hands each other. It is certain that assistance as well as encouragement both from Japan and all over the world will help the affected people. We need your support to deploy an immediate mission.”

CARE is one of the world’s leading humanitarian organisations which helps to fight poverty and injustice in more than 70 countries around the world. With more than 60 years of practical and hands-on experience in emergency relief and development cooperation, its programmes tackle the deep-seated root causes of poverty, not just the consequences. Recent figures have shown that, each year, CARE helps over 59 million people to find routes out of poverty.

CARE holds a consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council and helps people in need, regardless of their political belief, religion or ethnicity. CARE Deutschland-Luxemburg is based in Germany and forms part of CARE International.

Following World War II, a consortium of 22 American organisations combined their efforts and delivered more than 10 million CARE packages to war-torn Germany where millions of people were suffering from starvation. Out of thankfulness for this generous act, CARE Deutschland was founded in 1980 and today operates under the name CARE Deutschland-Luxemburg e.V. The organisation has been awarded with certifications by DZI, an independent institute monitoring the usage of donations of charitable NGO’s, and by the auditing company PricewaterhouseCoopers for transparency and accountability.