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July 20, 2004
United States: Flood and Fire Plague the Coasts
Eight New Jersey communities are mopping up after two days of heavy rains washed out as many as seven dams. UMCOR has provided flood buckets--supplies relief workers use to clean up. Silt, debris, and high water damaged more than 200 homes, destroying seven, and 20 apartment buildings sustained damage, displacing some 750 families. Across the country, UMCOR is monitoring the wildfires that have charred thousands of acres in western states. Particularly hard hit: Nevada's capital city area. You can assist affected families by giving generously to UMCOR Advance #901670, Domestic Disaster Response.
United States: UMCOR Emergency Services Calls for Flood Buckets
To replenish supplies and in anticipation of future needs, UMCOR is seeking energetic volunteers to assemble flood buckets and ship them to the agency's volunteer center and warehouse, UMCOR Sager Brown in Louisiana. Why not create a fun project for a church school class or vacation Bible school group? You'll find specifications for the buckets on UMCOR's website. Or, for $45 you can underwrite one flood bucket. Mark your check with UMCOR Advance #901440, Material Resource Ministry, and specify "Flood Buckets" in the memo line.
Sudan: Systematic Abuse Traumatizes Darfur Region
As many as 30,000 people are dead, and more than a million have fled their homes in the Darfur region of Sudan. Fires have charred many villages. Adding to the trauma: mass rapes of girls and women. "Five to six men would rape us in rounds, one after the other. My husband could not forgive me after this," said one woman from Silaya. UMCOR is participating in an ecumenical response to this crisis. Aid efforts include shelter, water and sanitation, supplementary food, health care, and educational services. Please pray for the people of Sudan, and give generously to UMCOR Advance #184385, Sudan Emergency.
Southern and Western Africa: Food Shortages Worsen in Harsh Weather
Southern and Western African families--including Sudanese refugees in Chad--face severe food shortages and malnutrition. Harsh weather, such as sandstorms and torrential rains, is heightening the urgency of humanitarian response. Hardest hit: Lesotho, Malawi, Swaziland, and Zimbabwe. Please assist these vulnerable families with your generous donations to replenish UMCOR Advance #101250, All Africa Famine Relief.
Liberia: Soul Clinic Camp Residents Vow, "No More Camps"
Some of the 23,000 people who occupy Soul Clinic, a camp for displaced persons managed by UMCOR, have been refugees or internally displaced since 1993. Many of them are vowing that Soul Clinic will be their last camp. "We pray that UMCOR will stay with us until we can go home," said Jallah Kpabee, the chairperson of the internally displaced persons group in the camp. UMCOR recently sent a grant to Soul Clinic for plastic roofing material. Camp residents construct their own shelters, and they are building a new section of the camp for 465 families. You can assist with Mr. Kpabee's dream of going home with your contribution to UMCOR Advance #150300, Liberia Emergency.
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.
