We will be working closely with United Nation’s OCHA and other NGO’s to assess need and distribute first aid, water filters and all-weather Roma Boots

DALLAS, TEXAS, USA, March 19, 2015 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Mina Chang, Linking the World CEO, will arrive in the capital city of Port Vila on the main island of Efate in the Pacific Island nation of Vanuatu with emergency supplies to support relief efforts already on the ground after the wide-spread destruction of Tropical Cyclone Pam.

Ms. Chang will stop in Sydney on Friday to meet with the Hon. Julie Bishop MP and the Hon. Malcolm Turnbull MP, Australian Ministers for Foreign Affairs and Communications respectively. They will discuss mutual coordination and cooperation of Vanuatu emergency relief efforts.

“Direct reports to us of the devastation are heart breaking. The emergency supplies that we are bringing, like the microbiological water filters are crucial to support the water, sanitation and hygiene programs to minimize the risk of disease outbreaks,” said Mina Chang, Linking the World CEO. “Our years of disaster relief experience are being employed to support existing efforts on the ground and assess additional need. We are deeply concerned about communities on the hard-to-reach outer islands.”

Getting to these islands in the best of times can be a challenge but getting to them now is extremely difficult. It may take to a week to reach people in these more remote communities and every day counts for those injured and without food and clean water. Chang will be posting updates to the Linking the World blog and related social media when possible given the communications blackout.

With over half of the population situated on the outer islands, real estimates of the impact are spotty at best. Aerial reconnaissance reports say that 80% of all homes and buildings on nearby islands are completely destroyed. Fears of a measles outbreak have prompted an emergency vaccination drive for children across Vanuatu, which has low rates of immunization and already suffered a measles outbreak earlier this month.

With an estimated 60,000 children on Vanuatu in need of humanitarian assistance, Roma Boots stepped up to provide all-weather boots for Linking the World’s first relief shipment. “We are proud to support and be an ongoing partner with Linking the World in their efforts to bring hope to the children of Vanuatu and around the world,” said Romanian-born Samuel Bistrian, founder of Roma Boots.

The need for footwear is not about comfort. Serious health conditions including parasitic infections like hookworm can be absorbed through cuts and scrapes on the feet. These injuries are almost never treated and often lead to serious infection, amputations and death. In the Vanuatu disaster, where open sewer and highly contaminated water is at play, children are the highest at risk. Children in this region, Southeast Asia and Africa are 60 times more likely to develop life-threatening infections through their feet.

About Linking the World
Since 1997, Linking The World has been saving and improving lives in the world's toughest places. Our network of committed humanitarians have responded to the global challenges of disaster, conflict and extreme poverty; enabling individuals, families and communities to survive crisis and build sustainable futures in forty-three countries. The mission of Linking the World is to deliver humanitarian aid that builds communities marked by self-reliance, sustainable infrastructures and lasting change.

Mina Chang is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Linking the World. Ms. Chang took the office of CEO in 2011 and relocated the international headquarters to the United States. In this role, her initiatives have included expanded focus on strategic partnerships and the innovative field uses of technology for situational assessment in disaster response.

About Roma
Roma Boots, the Dallas-based pioneer in socially conscious all-weather boots, continues its mission to ‘give poverty the boot’ as it sells fashionable boots and donates a pair for each pair sold to street children and orphans living in poverty—especially in cold and wet climates. A truly global brand, Roma has spent the last five years not only delivering functional fashion, but hope and compassion by the boot-full to thousands of children. The growing success of the Roma brand and business model has enabled the company to help kids across 20 countries and four continents.

Ian Dailey
Linking the World
214 412 0929
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