A Look at How You Helped Communities in Need this Year
As we reflect on 2025, we want to express our heartfelt gratitude for the kindness that Peace Winds’ supporters like you have shown us this year. The year began unexpectedly–and not in a way that we hoped–with the U.S. government’s termination of some 10,000 international aid programs, including our work with Syrian refugees in Iraq and five other Peace Winds projects. At the same time, we were humbled by how many of you showed up to support us and the communities we serve when the needs were greatest.
Not only did you help us extend support for Syrian refugees; this year, your generosity helped us aid disaster survivors in Los Angeles, Japan, South Korea, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka; strengthen healthcare for Sudanese refugees in South Sudan; deliver food and clean water to displaced families in Gaza, and carry out life-saving work elsewhere. (Read on to learn more about some of these initiatives.)
Needs for these communities and many others remain high, so our work is far from over. We know that each year brings new disasters and hardships, and we look toward 2026 prepared to face these challenges wherever Peace Winds teams are needed.
Donations to our 2025 annual appeal go where they are most needed, allowing us to react quickly and tailor aid to each community’s needs.
2025 Snapshot: How You Made an Impact this Year
Wildfire Relief and Recovery in LA
When wildfires devastated Los Angeles in January, a Peace Winds team responded immediately, distributing canned goods, water, hygiene items, and pet food to community groups and evacuation centers in the area.
In the weeks and months that followed, your generosity allowed us to support four local organizations, each working to address a unique aspect of recovery in the Pasadena and Altadena area. This includes providing furniture and other home goods for survivors moving into new houses and apartments (Home Bank LA), offering pro bono and low-cost legal services for families which lost their homes and livelihoods (Neighborhood Legal Services of LA County), support for the immigrant day laborers who did much of the fire clean-up (Pasadena Community Job Center), and care for pets who were separated from their families (San Diego Humane Society).
Earthquake Relief and Recovery in Myanmar
Peace Winds’ disaster medical team was one of the only overseas teams that managed to make it into the country after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck central Myanmar in March. For two weeks, doctors and nurses treated about 200 survivors who had been waiting to receive medical care.
After that, your generosity helped us provide shelter together with local partner organizations to hundreds of families who lost their homes in the disaster. During the rainy season, our teams spent several months distributing shelter kits to 970 households in the hardest-hit area.
Now, as families continue to cope with challenges related to clean water, sanitation, food, and other basic necessities, Peace Winds is continuing to provide flexible support to families in the hardest-hit areas. Currently, teams are distributing food packages and hygiene kits to nearly 6,000 individuals who are not receiving assistance through other programs. They are also installing water purification systems in five villages to ensure that residents will have access to clean water in the long term. We also continue to support mothers and children who have fled the civil war to seek refuge across the border in Thailand with a variety of programs.
Wildfire Relief and Recovery in South Korea
Right after wildfires broke out in South Korea’s South Gyeongsang Province this March, Peace Winds Korea deployed a team that helped provide emergency food, clothing, supplies, medical support, and other aid to first responders and survivors living in evacuation centers.
In the weeks and months that followed, your generosity–and that of our partners at Direct Relief–allowed the team to fill gaps in aid for isolated communities. Staff provided clothes and supplies to 850 people at 17 scattered evacuation centers with the help of the “Everything Truck” – a truck loaded with 50 types of relief supplies and clothing in various sizes so that survivors could “shop” for what they really needed.
Since March, Peace Winds teams in Korea have also provided vouchers for bath and laundry services in partnership with local businesses; hot meals at evacuation centers; small appliances and home goods for those transitioning into temporary housing; and psychosocial support for seniors.
Primary and Maternal Healthcare for Sudanese Refugees
Gorom Refugee Settlement, a community of 27,500+ Sudanese refugees and others, has been hit hard by cuts to U.S. foreign aid. Funding has been scaled back for Peace Winds’ work to provide primary and maternal healthcare for refugees and host community members as well as to manage the refugee camp’s water system and provide all sanitation and hygiene services, from construction of latrines to distribution of soap and sanitary pads.
Your donations have helped us fill the gaps, including by supporting Gorom Primary Health Care Center, the only health facility for miles. The center is plagued by regular shortages of medical supplies and drugs, and it operates with far too few nurses, doctors, and support staff. Nevertheless, the heroic team there has managed to stretch their limited resources to provide essential health care services to more than100 patients per day, deliver 5-7 babies a week, and limit the damage from the cholera outbreak that has been sweeping through the region.
Food and Clean Water for Families in Gaza
Peace Winds team members have been working with local partners to distribute food and clean water to displaced families. This year, when blockades and the rising cost of fuel made these deliveries difficult, you stepped up to help us keep clean water flowing.
With your help, Peace Winds delivered more than 3 million liters of clean water in 2025, reaching over 20,000 people on a semi-regular basis. We also helped get food packets to more than 14,000 people. These families rely on our deliveries of food and clean water for drinking, cooking, baking bread, and bathing — and receiving aid at the shelters means they don’t have to risk dangerous trips to find it elsewhere.
Despite the ceasefire in Gaza, families are still facing incredible adversity. Your support makes it possible for us to continue to provide water and other essentials that they need for their everyday lives.
Disaster Relief & Recovery in Japan
This year, Peace Winds’ emergency teams in Japan aided survivors of the devastating fires in Ofunato in February and Oita in November, and they also deployed after the December earthquake in Aomori. They have provided emergency medical care, distributed relief supplies, and helped to manage evacuation centers.
Meanwhile, on Japan’s Noto Peninsula, a Peace Winds team based in Suzu continues to lead recovery programs after an earthquake devastated the area on New Year’s Day 2024. This year, as evacuees rebuild and adjust to life in short-term housing, Peace Winds has set up an activity center for children, hosted 200+ community events, conducted door-to-door wellness checks for hundreds of area seniors, and led a wide range of physical and mental wellness activities for residents of all ages.
Peace Winds also continues to lead disaster preparedness workshops and drills for local residents and other responders, helping people around the country stay ready to face future disasters.
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Thank you for believing in Peace Winds, and we send our best wishes to you and your loved ones for a happy holiday season and a peaceful new year.