Church of the Brethren

Caring for children after disasters has been a ministry of the Church of the Brethren since 1979, when Disaster Response Director R. Jan Thompson noticed children waiting in line with their parents for disaster assistance. The waits were long in the hot sun, and if parents got out of line to tend to their children, they lost their place. Fights broke out while people waited and at that time, there was no bottled water or food distribution for those who were waiting. Jan realized that these conditions were creating a different kind of disaster for the children.