The Story

Israeli-Iranian pop star Rita Jahanforuz talks on her new album, "My Joys."

In May 2008, the Sichuan quake rocked Central China - almost 70,000 people were killed, and millions were left homeless. Phil Kates had been following the news of the earthquake as the Philadelphia Orchestra made its way from Tokyo to Seoul to Beijing. He wasn’t sure what to do. He wrote in his journal - “what possible use could a violin player be to children suffering from the end of their world?”

There are still more than a million and a half people living in tents and under tarps in Haiti. Many of the tarps have been out in the sun for months … so they're starting to fall apart. Now that it's the rainy season, they leak. Sandra Amilcar says all she can do us is gather her two kids under a corner of the tarp and try to stay dry.

Jonathan Menjivar shares an audio letter he sent home to his mother after he had moved away.