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September 26, 2003: Isabel's worst damage may be the unseen. At Hatteras, NC, many homes that remain standing after the hurricane now tilt at precarious angles. At least one home is up to its roof in water. Others remained battered shells. New pockets of damaged homes turn up daily in Virginia and Maryland as well. But out of sight are threats of mold and mildew, and their attendant health problems. UMCOR has sent grants to the Baltimore-Washington, Virginia and North Carolina annual conferences. You can help with these recovery and cleanup efforts with your generous gift to Hurricanes 2003 Advance #982438.
In all three states UMCOR teams have been handing out flood buckets filled with sponges, bleach, rubber gloves, facemasks and other cleaning item essentials. More kits are on the way to the Delmarva Peninsula, where many families faced flooding from wind-driven waters. Cleanup efforts in the hardest hit areas have depleted UMCOR's inventory of flood buckets. For assembly and shipping instructions, call the UMCOR Sager Brown Depot at 1-800-814-8765 or visit UMCOR's Emergency Kits web page at http://gbgm-umc.org/umcor/kits.cfm.
Because of the severity of flood damage from Hurricane Isabel, UMCOR has issued a call for volunteers. To learn what initial assessments have disclosed about hurricane cleanup efforts in Maryland, North Carolina and Virginia-- and how you can help-- call the Volunteer Hotline, 1-800-918-3100.
United Nations statistics tell a stunning story of loss and suffering in the HIV/AIDS pandemic. More than 28 million are dead, 15 million of them in sub-Saharan Africa. Life expectancy may drop to the early thirties if efforts to eradicate this killer are not stepped up. The orphaned children of families stricken with AIDS are the forgotten casualties. Cooperatively with a local nongovernmental organization, UMCOR works in northern Mozambique training pastors and United Methodist community leaders on HIV/AIDS awareness. Several workshops from now until November focus on issues, misconceptions and pastoral care. Your contribution to Global HIV/AIDS Program Development Advance #982345 will enable more of this critical work.
Serious food shortages and high levels of malnutrition continue to affect a large number of people in Southern Africa. An estimated 13.2 million people need emergency assistance. Farmers lack seeds. Drought has killed many animals in the affected areas. Please help with a generous donation to Southern Africa Famine Advance #101250. Through your gifts, UMCOR focuses on supporting grassroots distribution processes, assisting HIV/AIDS-affected families and orphans, maintaining educational programs and improving agricultural development to stabilize communities for the long term. UMCOR does not transfer funds to national governments. Churches and community groups implement UMCOR-supported projects.
Fresh fighting and armed groups harassing villagers for food have sent thousands of civilians fleeing their homes in central Liberia. More than 4,500 Liberians have fled to Guinea from Lofa County near Bong over the past two weeks. The new displacement of Liberians stresses the urgency of donations to the Liberia Emergency Advance #150300. Your gifts to this Advance will help UMCOR respond to this latest crisis and continue its ongoing development work and other ministries there.
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.
