The devastation grows daily following a 7.2 magnitude earthquake killing over 2,000 and injuring 10,000; many are still missing. Tropical storm Grace hovered directly over the quake-ravaged portion of Haiti for two days, adding more misery to displaced survivors. Many hospitals are damaged. Medics attempt to transfer patients to Port-au-Prince. One hospital is treating severely injured victims in tents outside the building. On 18 August people were still arriving with broken limbs. Storm Grace has hindered humanitarian aid or the need to assess the extent of the damage. UNICEF said aid to 1.2 million people, including 540,000 children, will cost $15 million. 385,000 are most urgently in need; 167,000 are children. Thousands of buildings were destroyed. People camp out in fields where UNICEF distributes blankets, hygiene and kitchen kits, plus shelter repair items for 30,000 people. They need medical staff, supplies, and full access to electricity and water. Dictatorships and natural disasters have left 59% of Haitians living in poverty. Pray for political stability.

The Dixie Fire is the largest of nearly 100 major wildfires burning across a dozen western US states, including Alaska. Two mountain communities were incinerated, and a utility company blacked out 51,000 customers to prevent new blazes. Two weeks after the fire destroyed Greenville, the Caldor Fire a few miles southeast exploded and ravaged Grizzly Flats, a forest community of around 1,200 people, destroying more than 50 homes. Governor Gavin Newsom proclaimed a state of emergency in El Dorado County. Both fires grew by tens of thousands of acres in two days. Numerous resources were put into the Susanville area, with 18,000 people. Residents were warned to be ready to evacuate. By 19 August over 2.4 million acres were burned in 104 large fires and complexes in twelve states, involving over 25,000 wildland firefighters and support personnel.

The Paralympic Games open in Tokyo on 24 August, with over 4,000 disabled athletes from around the world. Ahead of the event, the International Paralympic Committee is launching a campaign called 'Wethe15'. Wethe15 is sport’s biggest ever human rights movement to end discrimination. It aims to transform the lives of 1.2 billion persons with disabilities, representing 15% of the global population. Figures show that many disabled people live in poverty, struggling to access education and employment. Wethe15 plans to initiate change by bringing together the biggest ever coalition of international organisations from sport, human rights, policy, communications, business, arts and entertainment. It will build greater knowledge of the barriers and discrimination persons with disabilities face daily at all levels of society. By doing so it wants to break down these barriers so that all persons with disabilities can fulfil their potential and be active and visible members of an inclusive society.

On 17 August Peru’s Covid cumulative death toll rose to 197,487. Peru has the world’s highest number of Covid deaths per capita. Poverty, high levels of informal labour, and intergenerational housing have contributed to the high rate of transmission. The secondary impact of the pandemic is children losing their primary and secondary caregivers. Children orphaned by the death of one or both parents or bereft of other caregivers are often more vulnerable to poverty, abuse, institutionalisation, and harmful mental health impacts. Psychosocial support and trauma counselling is a prominent need. As children in Peru and around the world confront death in a unique way, may their perspective and grieving process be shaped by a Godly perspective and the Father’s heart.