August 1, 2003: The humanitarian situation in Liberia is rapidly worsening. Food, water, fuel, shelter and medicines are desperately needed. UMCOR staff in Freetown, Sierra Leone, will deliver supplies as soon as access to this war-torn country is possible. Please keep the people of Liberia in your prayers, and support Liberia Emergency Advance #150300, which enables UMCOR's response on your behalf.
Medical needs remain a priority in Iraq as the nation tries to rebuild amid continued instability and insecurity. UMCOR is supporting Church World Service's program "All Our Children," which is providing health and medical assistance to children in Iraq. Recent grants have provided 100 beds for children in hospitals in Mosul and helped support a book project to educate children about landmines, hygiene, and other safety issues. Fresh food for 37 hospitals in Baghdad and Basra-- enough for 3 meals a day for 5,000 children over a 10-day period-- are also being provided. Your generous gifts to Iraq Emergency Advance #623225 will help support these life-saving efforts.
Your contributions to the Domestic Disaster Advance #901670 allow UMCOR to support the efforts of United Methodists to bring relief and recovery to the most vulnerable in the United States. In western Tennessee, a two-year plan for recovery will help communities recover from tornado and hail damage that occurred in May. More than 5,500 homes were damaged. It is estimated that fewer than 25% of those affected had insurance. In collaboration with other faith organizations, the Florida Annual Conference is responding in two areas to flood damage from heavy rains. House repair as well as water and septic system repairs are being provided to the rural poor. The East Ohio Conference is responding to flood damage in the Cleveland-Youngstown-Canton areas.
Floods continue to wreak havoc in India's Assam province. Hundreds of villages are still marooned. Relief camps are filled with families from the economically marginalized agricultural and daily worker sectors. Efforts to provide shelter, water, food and medicine are still underway. Your contributions to International Disaster Relief Advance #982450, marked "Assam Floods," will assist the Church's Auxiliary for Social Action (CASA), our ecumenical partner in India in bringing hope and health to the suffering.
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.