Humanitarian Efforts

Together with partnering organizations, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) conduct major humanitarian initiatives throughout the world. These programs include immunization against preventable diseases, providing sustainable clean water, wheelchair donations, neonatal resuscitation training, vision care and disaster relief.

MSNBC praises LDS Church's networking skills, humanitarian efforts

In Japan, the Mormon network gathers the flock

The only thing that rivals the Mormon church’s ability to spread the word is its ability to cope with emergencies.

Within 36 hours of the earthquake striking off the coast of Sendai on March 11, the Utah-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced that all 638 of its missionaries in the country — 342 Americans, 216 Japanese and 80 from other nations – were safe.

Within a few days, the church also had accounted for all but about 1,000 of its 125,000 members in Japan.

 “Whether it is Haiti or Japan,” said David Evans, a senior leader in the church who serves in the missionary department. “This is how it works everywhere.”

Chalk it up to a culture of discipline and emergency preparedness. The church has a detailed hierarchy and network that works in ordinary times to maintain cohesion among followers, and in disaster to locate them.

Sierra Leone

As Sierra Leone recovers from an 11-year civil war, there is little to eat, and few people have easy access to clean water. Hundreds of children in Mbaomahun, Sierra Leone, suffered diarrhea and sometimes death from contaminated water before water wells were dug with the help of LDS Charities. More than 300 wells have been installed in Sierra Leone in the past two years.