IESC has been able to assist communities in East Africa following times of disaster. Whether it is meeting immediate needs, or helping with long-term rebuilding, we aim to help and assist these communities during their time of need. For example, in 2009, a fire devastated a coastal Kenyan village, damaging or destroying an estimated 500 homes and businesses and affecting over 2500 people. IESC personnel partnering with a community-based organization from Mombasa traveled to the village to meet with local leaders and villagers to assess needs and determine how IESC could assist this community. IESC was able to provide medicines for the local medical clinic to meet the immediate needs of the community that resulted from the fire. Thousands of textbooks for three schools in the village were also donated after it was determined that many of the students lost all their possessions in the fire.
Another example of an opportunity to meet immediate needs of a community was in response to accidental bomb explosions at the Gongola Mboto Army Depot in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania in February 2011. IESC partnered with the Tanzanian Red Cross to provide additional mosquito nets and blankets for those affected by the blasts. Several families lost their homes and possessions following the blasts, so the mosquito nets and blankets provided protection from the weather and outside elements. The Tanzanian Red Cross distributed the nets and the blankets at their emergency management points. We donated the needed funds to assist the Tanzanian Red Cross with this project. Several hundred Tanzanians received help after this tragic situation.