Operation Blessing
Founded1978
TypeNon-Government Organization
FocusDisaster Relief & Development
Location
Area served
90 countries
MethodDirect Aid / Program Funding
Key people
Gordon Robertson (President)
Revenue
USD $276,804,696 (2018)[1]
Websitewww.ob.org

Operation Blessing International Relief and Development Corporation (OBI) is a non-profit humanitarian organization headquartered in Virginia Beach, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1978, OBI operates in 90 countries, focusing on disaster relief, medical aid, clean water, hunger relief, community development, and orphan care programs.

History

Operation Blessing International (OBI) was founded on November 14, 1978 by businessman and televangelist Pat Robertson. Its purpose is to assist people facing challenges by connecting their needs, like clothing and appliances, with donations from viewers of The 700 Club. Operation Blessing International (OBI) collaborates with local churches and organizations to provide support, including food and financial aid, to low-income families. In 1990, the organization transitioned its focus from individual assistance to the funding of outreach centers throughout the United States. These centers work in conjunction with local ministries, food pantries, and shelters. OBI's international activities include efforts in medical aid, hunger relief, and disaster response. The organization became officially registered as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in 1986, following a partnership with Development Corporation.

Activities

A team from Operation Blessing assisting a homeowner in Port Charlotte, Florida after Hurricane Ian.

Disaster relief

Operation Blessing has been involved in domestic relief work for victims of many natural disasters, such as severe flooding in Nebraska, tornadoes in Mississippi, and hurricanes Michael and Florence in Florida and North Carolina and, internationally, Operation Blessing has assisted victims of humanitarian crises in Ukraine, Poland, Turkey, and Kenya.

With a focus on public health, Operation Blessing was involved in combat of the spread of Zika fever through educational initiatives, distribution of mosquito nets, and providing insect repellent, particularly for vulnerable groups, such as pregnant women.[2]

OBI's involvement extends to various natural disasters, including the April 2015 Nepal earthquake,[3] the 2013 Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami,[4] and the 2010 Haiti earthquake and accompanying cholera outbreak.[5]

Operation Blessing has also responded to humanitarian crises arising from conflict in Iraq, Syria, Israel, South Sudan, Mali, Somalia,[6] and Lebanon.[7]

Medical aid

Internationally, Operation Blessing's medical teams offer free medical care (general medical, optical, dental and surgical services) and medicine to low-income families who are unable to afford such treatment or reside in rural areas deprived of regular access to health services. The teams also develop community health worker teams to help prevent and detect illnesses and diseases in rural areas. These efforts have included distributing insecticide-treated bed nets for children and pregnant women to help curb the spread of malaria by mosquitoes. The organization offers surgeries for treatable conditions such as heart defects, cleft lips, clubfoot, and more, often through crowd-funded initiatives.[8]`

Clean water

Operation Blessing teams develop a variety of clean water systems in impoverished communities to provide residents with an accessible clean water source, thus, which stop the spread of water-borne diseases and reduce the time spent by women and children on water collection; cisterns are used in high-altitude areas to collect and store rainwater. Operation Blessing also installs large water purification systems that purify up to 10,000 US gallons (38,000 L; 8,300 imp gal) of water per day, used during disasters or for high volume areas such as hospitals.[9]

Operation Blessing also manufactures chlorine to disinfect water supplies for hospitals, including the largest hospital in Juba, South Sudan. Chlorine production has aided the effort to fight Ebola in Liberia. In several developing countries, the organization distributes PackH2O water backpacks, installs rural community water systems, as well as uses desalination technology to turn seawater into drinking water.

Hunger relief

In the United States, Operation Blessing's Hunger Strike Force trucks deliver an average of 2 million pounds (910 tonnes) of food and product each week to local ministries, food pantries, shelters, and more across the country.[10] Food security efforts like agricultural initiatives, skills training, and small business opportunities work to establish long-term hunger relief in areas affected by drought, famine and poverty.[11]

Micro enterprise

Through loans, Operation Blessing has funded micro enterprise projects in developing countries like Honduras, the Philippines, Peru and India, aiming to equip men and women with marketable job skills and the resources needed to open small businesses. These projects have included providing training courses in skills such as jewellery and baking, as well as community development initiatives such as vegetable gardens and sewing centers.[12]

Partnerships

Operation Blessing has partnered with several organizations and nonprofits, including Mayo Clinic of Minnesota, International Justice Mission, Free Wheelchair Mission, and Tide Loads of Hope. OBI also conducted annual food distributions with professional sports teams such as the Kansas City Chiefs, Kansas City Royals,[13] Washington Redskins, and Jacksonville Jaguars.[14]

Affiliation

Operation Blessing is a member of the Association of Evangelical Relief and Development Organizations (AERDO)[15] and is registered with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)[16] and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).[17] OBI is also a national member of the National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (NVOAD), Combined Federal Campaign (CFC), Christian Service Charities, Christian Service Organizations of America (CSOA), the Global Compassion Network, the Virginia Trucking Association, and the American Trucking Associations (ATA).[18]

Financial accountability

Operation Blessing is a member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA), and is audited annually by KPMG, LLP.

Controversy

In 1994, Pat Robertson made emotional pleas on The 700 Club for cash donations to Operation Blessing to support airlifts of refugees from Rwanda to Zaire. The Virginian-Pilot later discovered Operation Blessing's planes to be transporting diamond-mining equipment for the African Development Corporation, a venture Robertson had established in cooperation with Zaire's dictator, Mobutu Sese Seko, whom Robertson had befriended earlier in 1993.[19][20] According to Operation Blessing records, Robertson owned the planes used for Operation Blessing airlifts.[21]

Robertson maintained that Operation Blessing was responsible for providing aid to Rwanda following the 1994 genocide, even after an official investigation into Operation Blessing described it as a "fraudulent and deceptive" operation that provided almost no aid. A 1999 report concluded that, whilst Robertson's request for donations to Operation Blessing had been misleading, they were not an intentional attempt to commit fraud.[22] A September 2013 article in The Guardian reported that all Operation Blessing's volunteers did was recite Bible passages to dying refugees. Robertson was accused of taking credit for work that was actually done by Médecins Sans Frontières.[19]

In a December 2013 article, The Guardian issued an apology to Operation Blessing, retracting many of their accusations, acknowledging that they had not mentioned a further report that cleared Operation Blessing of any wrongdoing, and agreeing to make a donation to Operation Blessing's "relief efforts for victims of the typhoon in the Philippines."[23]

References

  1. ↑ Operation Blessing International. "BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2018 annual report" (PDF).
  2. ↑ "Operation Blessing launches effort to combat Zika virus in El Salvador, Haiti". The Virginian-Pilot. Retrieved 2016-06-01.
  3. ↑ "Operation Blessing delivers food, supplies to Nepal". The Virginian-Pilot. Retrieved 2015-05-07.
  4. ↑ "New fishing fleet signifies progress in Japan". NBC. Archived from the original (Video) on 2012-03-13. Retrieved 2012-07-20.
  5. ↑ "Cholera in Haiti: a view from a first responder". CNN. Retrieved 2012-07-20.
  6. ↑ Darg, David (2007-01-27). "Somalia dispatch: Delivering relief in a lawless land". AlertNet. Reuters. Retrieved 2007-09-06.
  7. ↑ King, Lawrence ‘Larry’ (2007-08-09). "Live" (Transcript). CNN. Retrieved 2007-09-06.
  8. ↑ "Medical Aid". Operation Blessing. Retrieved 2007-09-28.
  9. ↑ "Clean Water". Operation Blessing. Retrieved 2012-07-20.
  10. ↑ "Annual Report" (PDF). Operation Blessing. 2011. Retrieved 2012-07-20.
  11. ↑ "Hunger Relief". Operation Blessing. Retrieved 2012-07-20.
  12. ↑ "Microenterprise". Operation Blessing. Retrieved 2012-07-20.
  13. ↑ "Chiefs & Royals Help Feed Kansas City". Kansas City: Chiefs. 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2007-08-31.
  14. ↑ "Annual Report" (PDF). Operation Blessing. 2011. Retrieved 2012-07-20.
  15. ↑ "Member Organizations". AERDO. 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-07-20. Retrieved 2007-08-31.
  16. ↑ "Thousands of Volunteers Embark On Massive Gutting in Orleans Parish". FEMA. 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-03-08. Retrieved 2007-08-31.
  17. ↑ "Ocean Freight Reimbursement Success Stories". USAID. 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-08-16. Retrieved 2007-08-31.
  18. ↑ "Affiliations". About. Operation Blessing. Retrieved 2012-07-20.
  19. 1 2 "Mission Congo: how Pat Robertson raised millions on the back of a non-existent aid project". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2013-09-14. Retrieved 2013-09-07.
  20. ↑ "Mission Congo - Toronto Film Festival". Toronto Film Festival. Archived from the original on September 4, 2013. Retrieved 2013-09-07.
  21. ↑ "OBI Responds to Malicious Mission Congo Allegations". Operation Blessing. Retrieved 2015-10-12.
  22. ↑ "Guardian Newspaper Apologizes". The Christian Post. 13 December 2013. Retrieved 2014-02-11.
  23. ↑ "Corrections and clarifications". The Guardian. 12 December 2013. Retrieved 2014-02-11.
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