Service Programs
To cultivate the spirit of one family under God, UPF offers disaster relief and organizes service projects such as caring for public spaces, supporting access to education, promoting good health, and providing medical supplies.
- Written by: Richard Sapp, International Director of Disaster Services, IRFF
Galveston, Texas, USA - In the wake of Hurricane Ike's destruction, the International Relief Friendship Foundation is partnering with Christian Disaster Response to collect money for purchasing food and basic supplies and supporting the mobile Food Service Kitchen that serves people in Houston and Galveston.
- Written by: Richard Sapp, International Director of Disaster Services, IRFF
IRFF is partnering with Women’s Federation for World Peace in Florida and Christian Disaster Response to collect basic health kits to be shipped, together with dry goods already on hand, to Haiti. IRFF staff in Haiti will distribute the relief items to those most in need.
- Written by: Michael Balcomb, Communications Director, UPF
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia - Just a few short weeks after disputed elections threatened to bring this historic Asian nation to the brink of civil war, Sukhbaatar Square was once again filled with a huge crowd. This time, they sang and danced for peace.
- Written by: Yasushi Matsumoto, International Advisor, UPF-Mongolia
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia - Thousands of students picked up garbage along the main street of Ulaanbaatar, in the central square and along the banks of the river flowing through the middle of the capital city on Sept. 7, 2008.
- Written by: International Relief Friendship Foundation
Myanmar - The International Relief Friendship Foundation extends its thanks to the many generous donors who responded to its request for donations to assist people in Myanmar who lost their homes because of the floods following Cyclone Nargis that hit this Southeast Asian nation on May 2, 2008.
- Written by: Sharon Mwelu Kyungu, PR & Marketing Manager, National Museums of Kenya Headquarters
Nairobi, Kenya - The National Museums of Kenya is a unique organization that has been at the forefront in environmental conservation efforts with numerous resources and initiatives developed towards research, awareness creation, and policy formulation in environmental issues.
- Written by: Piya Ratna, International Relief Friendship Foundation-Nepal
Nepalis displaced when the Kosi River burst its banks during the monsoon season on Aug. 18, 2008, and changed course are in urgent need of health check-ups and medicine.
- Written by: Athalie Plane, UPF-France
Les Ulis, France - As the summer holidays were coming to an end, girls in Les Ulis were invited for an afternoon of crafts on Aug. 26, 2008.
- Written by: GPF-Mongolia
Mongolia - In the State of the World’s Children Report 2008, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) noted that Mongolia has made great strides in reducing infant mortality. This is good progress towards the UN Millennium Development Goal of reducing the rate by two-thirds between 1990 and 2015.The current under-five mortality rate per 1,000 live births is 43, which was 109 in 1990.
- Written by: UPF-UK
Watford, England - Inspired by their participation in a Family Fun Day in 2007, the Muslim Awareness Forum organized a Family Fun Day in Watford, England, on August 10 to raise funds for Great Ormond Street Hospital.
- Written by: Paul Byrne
San Juan del Alto, Peru - A small farming community in southern Peru benefited from an International Relief Friendship Foundation project in July in which volunteers built a center that can host local government meetings, a community kitchen, and trainings and workshops run by community organizations. In addition, they restored and improved a playground.
- Written by: Evelyne Drake
My passion is to provide opportunities for American youth, especially Haitian-Americans, to work together with young people in Haiti to develop their homeland and promote a culture of living for the sake of others. Fourteen people, including students from the University of South Florida in Tampa, left Florida on June 15 to spend two weeks in Haiti making connections with youth and adults and looking for ways to serve. It was a joint project of the International Relief Friendship Foundation and the Women’s Federation for World Peace-USA.