The UMCOR Hotline

September 7, 2004

USA and Caribbean: Post-Hurricane Recovery Faces One-Two Punch of Dual Storms
Even as Frances battered Florida and UMCOR disaster response staff began assessing damage in the hard-hit south central part of the state, a major hurricane formed in the central Atlantic. Hurricane Ivan shows potential to follow a path toward the beleaguered state as well as for Cuba. Some estimates placed damage in Cuba from Hurricane Charley at over $1 billion. UMCOR is also weighing interventions in the Bahamas, where howling winds from Hurricane Frances toppled trees and pounded the island with towering surf. In central Virginia, tropical storm Gaston dumped more than a foot of rain, causing heavy flooding that trapped people in buildings and sent cars floating down streets.

UMCOR continues its urgent call for flood buckets, the supplies volunteers use to clean up post-hurricane debris and water. Specifications are available online.

Gifts of money will be used to bring specially trained disaster workers into hard-hit areas, cover direct assistance such as rent payments, and purchase building supplies. UMCOR anticipates that long-term recovery from these severe storms will take several years. Please give generously to UMCOR Advance #982410, Hurricanes 2004.

Philippines: Floods Inundate Villages in Vast Plain of Rice Fields
The rice bowl of the Philippines has been under chest-deep water since typhoons in late August swept across the region. The floods have affected more than 1.6 million people in some 1,000 villages. The weight of rushing waters threatens to collapse dikes. Floodwaters have displaced 50,000 people to temporary shelters. UMCOR anticipates sending grants to two United Methodist episcopal areasCOR Advance #240235, Philippines Emergency, will assist recovery efforts there.

Russia: Prayers for Beslan
UMCOR is joining in prayers for the children and their families whose school in the province of North Ossetia, southern Russia, was the focus of a three-day siege last week. According to press reports, some 338 people died, about half of them children. UMCOR is in contact with Bishop Ruediger Minor of the United Methodist Church in Russia. In an initial response the agency will provide a shipment of school kits and health kits to the Beslan area. Kits are a wonderful project for a congregation or church school class. In the meantime, the General Board of Global Ministries, the church's mission agency, has offered written condolences to Russian United Methodists and their neighbors. Please keep leaders, families, and those who are mourning in your own prayers.

Zimbabwe: Orphan Trusts Are Trusted in Escalating AIDS Pandemic
Orphan trusts in Zimbabwe are grassroots responses to the AIDS pandemic that has orphaned millions of children. Thanks to a United Methodist family who asks to remain anonymous, some 3,000 children's school fees will be guaranteed over the next six years. Through the trusts, communities assist not only with school fees but also cultivate garden, and teach children to care for their own households. Dr. Peter Fasan, Africa University professor and administrator of the new school fee project, notes the bravery and perseverance of these children. "Some children collapse when their parents die (of AIDS). Others decide to do what they think their parents would do. That's how they hold on." Unlike other donors, The United Methodist Church is increasing its funding in Zimbabwe. That is because donations go to church employees for administration, rather than through the Zimbabwean government. You can trust that your gift to UMCOR Advance #982842, AIDS Orphans Trust, will reach the children who need it most.

Iran: UMCOR Partner Delivers Compassionate Post-Earthquake Care
Children of Iran who suffered losses of parents or family members in last year's deadly earthquake are receiving compassionate post-trauma care from UMCOR's partner in Bam. International Blue Crescent workers have identified some 300 children aged three to 12 who are inconsolable after their experiences of shock, loss, and grief in the earthquake. Children are participating in activities that help them master the intrusive memories of their experiences. Gifts of money will assist in continuing important ministries like this, through UMCOR Advance #982450, International Disaster Response.

Liberia: UMCOR Calls for Additional Soul Clinic Supplies
Demand is exceeding supplies of health kits and school kits at Soul Clinic Camp near Monrovia, Liberia. Some of the 23,000 displaced people who occupy the camp, managed by UMCOR, have been refugees or internally displaced since 1993. There are three ways to help. Assembling kits-- or, if you prefer, purchasing bulk supplies-- is a great mission project for a church school class or congregation. UMCOR also welcomes your gifts of cash to Advance #901440, Material Resource Ministry, to enable the purchase of kit supplies by UMCOR staff.

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.