The UMCOR Hotline

UMCOR Asia Tsunamis Update, January 7.

January 4, 2005

South and Southeast Asia: United Methodist Generosity Appreciated
United Methodists have pulled out the stops with overwhelmingly generous donations to UMCOR's urgent appeal to assist tens of thousands of earthquake and tsunami survivors in South and Southeast Asia. Media outlets such as MSN.com and Associated Press have listed UMCOR as one of the responding agencies, swelling the flow of gifts.

Representatives of the denomination's humanitarian relief agency are meeting with response partners today in Geneva, Switzerland, to gauge the scope and effectiveness of the disaster recovery so far. In the tidal wave stricken areas, UMCOR is partnering with church-related alliances such as Church World Service, Action by Churches Together and Churches Auxiliary for Social Action (CASA) to provide food, clean water, temporary shelter, and sanitation services from Asia to Africa. The areas affected include parts of India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Bangladesh, and islands such as Sri Lanka and the Maldives.

Nine days after the earthquake sent walls of water thousands of miles, the exact extent of the destruction is still not immediately known. Waters pushed far inland, washing out transportation systems. Many of the affected regions are remote.

In India, CASA has deployed 12 teams to assess needs and assist people in the coastal states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Kerala. The organization told UMCOR it expects to work with 50,000 families. The Christian Medical Association of India will field medical teams to offer acute care in specially designed mobile health camps. Once the region around a health camp stabilizes, the team will move on to the next location.

In response to partners' requests, UMCOR this week is shipping a truckload of health kits that will augment a supply coming from other denominations. Value of the United Methodist kits is set at around $300,000.

Cash gifts continue to be most meaningful in the initial days and weeks of this response, according to the Rev. Kristin L. Sachen, head of UMCOR's international emergency services. Long term support will hinge on the actions of congregations through special offerings and creative fundraising. UMCOR offers some ideas on it South Asia Emergency web page.

You can get involved through giving to UMCOR Advance #274305, South Asia Emergency. UMCOR is also accepting online donations at http://MethodistRelief.org.

Souper Bowl of Caring: Every Dollar on Feb. 6 Will Demonstrate God's Love!
Fifteen years ago a Super Bowl Sunday prayer inspired a group of young people to do something more than celebrate a football game. They created the Souper Bowl of Caring, a youth-led, grassroots movement that is now an international event. Participation helps young people put God's love into action. UMCOR urges local church youth to participate- a bulletin insert may be downloaded and printed locally- and to designate part of the donations they receive for a local organization battling hunger and part for UMCOR Advance #982920, World Hunger and Poverty.

Cuba: UMCOR Housing Replaces Homes Lost in Storms
Twenty families in Santa Fe, a small fishing town at the west edge of Havana, Cuba, have new housing and another 100 received upgraded water service as a United Methodist Committee on Relief project concluded in early December 2004 with a dedication ceremony. Twelve additional units in the same community were finished several years ago. The dual accomplishment hinged on a unique partnership among Cuban authorities, the municipality of Santa Fe, the Methodist Church in Cuba, and the US-based humanitarian aid organization. To select residents for the new units, Santa Fe officials formed a vulnerable people's organization. To join, community members had to meet criteria such as low income and loss of housing to storms. The organization also established standards to assure a mix of ages and of woman-headed households. Projects like the Santa Fe Housing Development can transform a community thanks to second-mile giving to UMCOR Advance #982450, International Disaster Response.

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.

Get the free UMCOR Hotline
Telephone: 1-800-841-1235; Web: http://gbgm-umc.org/UMCOR-Hotline/
Email: http://list.gbgm-umc.org/read/all_forums/subscribe?name=umcor-hotline

BE SURE TO RECEIVE OUR HOTLINE EMAILS. MAKE UMCOR YOUR BUDDY! Some Internet Service Providers like AOL, Yahoo!, Hotmail, and Juno use email filtering software that allows you to add email addresses to a "buddy," "trusted," "safe," or approved list. Please add umcor@gbgm-umc.org to your list so that our messages don't end up in "junk mail" or the "trash."

Featured Photos
United Methodist Committee on Relief

A woman salvages a few of her belongings from the ruins of her house, smashed by the tsunami when it hit the town of Moratuwa, south of Colombo on the island nation of Sri Lanka.Credit: Paul Jeffrey/ACT International, January 1, 2005.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been affected by the disaster along the length of the coast of India, like in the village of Kokkirammedu, where 20 people lost their lives out of a small population of 120 families. Women burn what they can on the beach. Credit: Hege Opseth NCA/ACT International, January 4, 2005.

People visit one of the housing units built by UMCOR in Santa Fe, a small fishing town at the west edge of Havana, Cuba. Twenty families have new housing and another 100 received upgraded water service. Credit: Paul Dirdak/UMCOR, December 4, 2004.

More Information About UMCOR's Work

• Indian Ocean Tsunami: UMCOR's Response.
• Church Bulletin Insert:Sudan: Enormous Suffering.
• Medicine Boxes: Contents and Instructions.
• One Great Hour of Sharing, March 6.
• Souper Bowl of Caring, Feb. 6
• UMCOR Emergency Kits: Health kits, school kits, flood buckets, and more.
• This Hotline is available in 2 formats:
  Standard - Print-Friendly.