Samaritan's Purse Flies $8 Million in Aid to N. Korea

By Michelle A. Vu, Christian Post Reporter Friday, August 31, 2007

The Christian humanitarian agency Samaritan's Purse, in response to severe flooding in North Korea, has flown supplies to the reclusive country's capital city, Pyongyang.

A Boeing 747 cargo jet arrived Friday, carrying 75 tons of emergency and medical supplies to a country where few are allowed access. The airlift included medicine, medical supplies, antibiotics, plastic sheeting, temporary shelter materials, water filtration equipment, blankets, hand tools and other equipment.

"In spite of the political differences that divide our two countries, we need to do all we can to care for the people of North Korea," said Franklin Graham, president and CEO of Samaritan's Purse.

North Korea was recently struck by the heaviest downpour in 40 years which led to floods across the country earlier this month. More than 600 people are dead or missing and some 100,000 people left homeless, according to the country's official news agency.

The flood also destroyed more than 11 percent of the nation's crops and left massive damage to North Korea's infrastructure and industrial facilities, the country reports.

In addition to the efforts of Samaritan's Purse, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA), which Graham also leads, is also partnering in an effort to match a $50,000 grant from the United States Agency for International Development for the emergency response. The Christian agencies World Vision Canada and MAP International have also contributed to the airlift by providing medical supplies.

North Korea has had a special place in the hearts of the Graham family with different Graham members having lived in or visited North Korea over the years.

Ruth Bell Graham, whose parents were medical missionaries in China, attended high school at the Pyongyang Foreign School in the 1930s. Her husband evangelist Billy Graham visited the country in 1992 and again in 1994 and met with its leader, General Kim Il sung. Later, in 1997, Ruth Graham returned to the city where she had spent her high school years.

More recently, Franklin Graham was permitted to fly into North Korea in 2000 and visit with then-Foreign Minister Paek Nam Sun.

"We pray for the North Korean people at this time, and we pledge to do all we can in the name of Jesus Christ to extend a hand of friendship and practical assistance to them during this period of suffering," said Graham.

Samaritan's Purse in recent years has been involved in various aid and development projects in North Korea including ongoing work with tuberculosis care, refurbishing several operating rooms, and providing equipment and supplies for a number of medical and dental facilities. In addition, the organization's Operation Christmas Child project has delivered thousands of gift-filled shoe boxes to underprivileged children in North Korea.