July 13, 2004
New Jersey: In Flooded Towns, Cleanup Begins
UMCOR Hotline Special Update: July 16, 2004: Four hundred UMCOR flood buckets are on their way to New Jersey towns where two days of driving rains earlier this week caused the worst flooding in 100 years. Flood cleanup supplies will assist UMCOR volunteers to begin the long cleanup. UMCOR emergency service officials anticipate sending a grant to assist the stricken state. The downpour washed away some seven dams, adding to the floodwaters' reach. The New York Times reported as many as 750 families were displaced as fast-moving water roiled through homes, businesses, and streets in the region. Please pray
for flood-stricken families in New Jersey. In addition, your contributions of flood cleanup supplies will assist in replenishing low stocks. You can find specifications for UMCOR flood buckets online. And please consider a generous gift to UMCOR Advance #901670, Domestic Disaster Response, to assure that UMCOR can respond effectively in future disasters.
Southern Africa: Food Shortages Threaten Families
UMCOR urgently seeks contributions to provide assistance to the most vulnerable Southern African families who face critical food shortages. The Famine Early Warning Systems Network, a group that monitors crop and rangeland conditions in Africa, estimates a shortage of 1.5 million tons of cereal production. The FEWS Net report, in direct contradiction to improved crop
forecasts, cites the setbacks on agricultural recovery and household resiliency caused by HIV/AIDS. Hardest hit: Lesotho, Malawi, and Swaziland. In addition, Zimbabwe's political situation and the impact of HIV/AIDS threaten food security there. Please assist these vulnerable families with your generous donations to replenish UMCOR Advance #101250, All Africa Famine Relief.
Philippines: Typhoon Mindulle Claims Lives
Typhoon Mindulle's six-day siege devastated many regions of the Philippines in late June and early July. Flash floods, landslides, strong winds, and heavy rains destroyed more than 700 houses and damaged more than 14,000. The toll of dead and missing nears 50 people. The storm uprooted recently planted rice seedlings and caused other severe damage to crops. UMCOR will assist with recovery efforts through a donation to Action by Churches Together, the global alliance of churches that supports communities in emergencies. ACT's partner in the devastated region, the National Council of Churches in the Philippines, is using contributions to provide food, sleeping mats, plastic sheets, and medicines to 10,000 affected families. UMCOR is in communication with the United Methodist bishop in the area. You can assist in a meaningful way through prayers and donations to UMCOR Advance #240235, Philippines Emergency.
United States: Wildfires and Floods Challenge Relief Workers
Severe drought is spurring wildfires in the Western United States, currently charring acreage in Arizona, Alaska, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Washington. Elsewhere volunteers continue cleanup efforts in flooded and tornado-afflicted areas, especially Indiana, Kentucky, Texas, and Wisconsin. UMCOR has assisted with several grants in weather-stricken regions. Your contribution can assure UMCOR's ongoing capacity for effective emergency response in the United States. Please give to Advance #901670, Domestic Disaster Response.
Iraq: Most Adversely Affected Families Receive Assistance
About 500 Iraqi families for whom the war and its aftermath have created extremely adverse circumstances will receive assistance each month from UMCOR's partner there, International Orthodox Christian Charities. United Methodists can help in a meaningful way through donations. For example, for $12.00 you can provide a food parcel that will supplement the diets of a family of four for a month. For $60.00 you can assure that a family has necessities such as blankets, stove, and kitchen utensils, while for $5.00 you can provide a hygiene parcel. Please consider participating as a congregation in these concrete gifts that will assist vulnerable families in Iraq. Give to UMCOR Advance #623225, Iraq Emergency.
Liberia: Camp Residents Hope for School Kits, Health Kits
UMCOR workers are calling for shipments of school kits and health kits for displaced families near Monrovia. Some 31,000 people, many of whom fled from their homes in other regions of Liberia during the recent civil conflict, are living at Fendel and Soul Clinic camps not far from the capital. The facilities are managed by UMCOR and serve over 12,000 children among the total population. You can help in two important ways: by contributing cash to replenish supplies or by assembling school kits and health kits for a family or congregational project. You can find specifications for kits online. And, your generous contributions to UMCOR Advance #150300, Liberia Emergency, will help assure basic necessities for these families.
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.