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June 27, 2003: Hundreds of people have been killed in Monrovia this week after the ceasefire was broken by a rebel offensive. Humanitarian groups are struggling to address the new burdens added to an already desperate situation. The United Methodist Women of Liberia, who are helping to provide basic care for some of the thousands of displaced people in the capital city, are requesting additional funds so that they can purchase food and clothing. Contributions to Liberia Emergency Advance #150300 are urgently needed.
You can be a part of UMCOR'S response to recent tornadoes and floods in the United States by giving to the Spring Storms 2003, Advance #901680. Flood damage in Florida and West Virginia is being assessed. Initial emergency grants of $10,000 have been sent to the Kansas West and the Kentucky Conferences to help in the response to storms and flooding. Clean up and rebuilding continue in those states. The Minnesota Conference is sending a cleanup team to the town of Buffalo Lake where 80 homes and the downtown area were hit by a devastating tornado this week. Assessment is still being done in Nebraska in response to tornadoes earlier this week that left two small towns essentially destroyed, two people dead and extensive property damage in rural areas.
UMCOR personnel have been in conversation with Dakotas Conference disaster response leaders. Last Tuesday night, 40-60 tornadoes were recorded in eastern South Dakota, nearly double the number that usually happen in an entire year in that state. Some 50 homes were damaged and rural buildings and farm equipment were destroyed. Remarkably, there were only eight injuries and no deaths.
The aftermath of the fires in Arizona are being assessed for a possible response by UMCOR. Please give to UMCOR Domestic Disaster Response, Advance #901670.
Please consider an offering "for the world." The International Disaster Response is UMCOR's main resource for responding to emergency situations around the globe. This week, UMCOR made $4,000 available to the Methodist Church of Brazil for two water projects in the indigenous people's communities that are badly affected by drought. UMCOR's emergency funds are quite low due to the many demands upon them. Every week, UMCOR receives a request for help with food, medicine, water, shelter - the essentials of life that have been destroyed by natural disasters or human frailties. Please give to Advance #982450.
UMCOR provides emergency relief in many areas of the world. To find out more about UMCOR's ministries, please visit umcor.org. You can donate to any project by placing a contribution in the offering plate at a local United Methodist church; by sending a check to UMCOR, PO Box 9068, New York, NY 10087-9068; or by calling 1-800-554-8583, where credit card donations are accepted. UMCOR is exempt from tax under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of the United States and qualifies for the maximum charitable contribution deduction by donors.
And, please pray for those who are hungry, displaced, sick or in poverty because of these and other natural and human-made disasters, and for the workers who minister to them.
