September 28, 2004
USA and Caribbean: UMCOR Disaster Response Is On the Job
Hurricane Jeanne has delayed long-term case management initiatives in mid-Florida while UMCOR volunteers and workers clean up after the fourth major storm in six weeks thrashed the state. The Alabama-West Florida disaster response team has established a call center and distribution center. Plans for case management are in the works. Floridians are settling into the post-hurricane realities of miles-long lines for gasoline and the stifling heat and darkness that accompany widespread power outages.
UMCOR provided grants to other annual conferences where hurricanes spawned tornadoes and drenched saturated soils. Western North Carolina received grants in response to both hurricanes Ivan and Frances. Western Pennsylvania, where high waters from Ivan's stall over the state inundated many communities, received an initial grant for cleanup. Mission Central Warehouse in Central Pennsylvania Annual Conference received a grant to help boost inventories of cleanup supplies.
UMCOR international disaster staff members anticipate conducting assessments in Haiti in the next ten days. A week after devastating floods there, relief workers report that the death toll exceeds 2,400 people. In May of this year another 3,000, mostly Haitians, died in floods near the border with the Dominican Republic. The Rev. Raphael Dessieu, president of the Methodist Conference of Haiti, reports that at least 1,200 member families suffered loss of life, livestock, houses, and farmlands to the floodwaters. In its initial response UMCOR has sent a grant to deliver emergency assistance. The agency invites all United Methodists to join in prayers of support and consolation for Haitian brothers and sisters. UMCOR will also assess the scope of hurricane disaster in Grenada.
Reporting from the Bahamas, where the winds and storm surges of hurricanes Frances and Jeanne swept away homes and businesses, the disaster coordinator of the Bahamas Conference of the Methodist Church says shipments of food and water are on their way to the hard-hit community of Abaco. He continues: "We are considering how we may be able to respond in Haiti [where] we see a major disaster and severe suffering."
UMCOR continues its urgent call for flood buckets, the supplies volunteers use to clean up post-hurricane debris and water. Specifications are online.
New-- now you can donate to this appeal online at MethodistRelief.org ! Gifts of money enable specially trained disaster workers to minister in hard-hit areas, direct assistance such as rent payments, and purchase of 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.
Russia: Beslan Receives Assistance from UMCOR-Armenia
UMCOR has taken two actions in response in to the tragic siege of a city school in Beslan, Russia, where over 300 died last month. UMCOR-Armenia received an invitation from the Armenian Ministry of Social Welfare to contribute relief supplies for a container to be delivered to Beslan. UMCOR provided 60 school kits and 147 health kits. UMCOR school kits typically contain scissors, colored crayons, pens and pencils, paper, and other writing materials. Health kits include such supplies as hand towels, wash cloths, combs, and sterile bandages. Learn more about how to assemble health and school kits.
In a second initiative teachers and school leaders will receive therapeutic workshops and psychosocial support from an UMCOR partner. The Centre for Peacemaking and Community Development will provide a network of training and support, including visual arts, music, dance and drama. These activities help survivors master the intrusive memories of their experiences. Your generous gift to UMCOR Advance #982450, International Disaster Response, will help in a meaningful way for future initiatives.
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.