The UMCOR Hotline
July 26, 2005
In Today's Hotline:
 Niger:
UMCOR Appeals for Famine Relief
Zimbabwe:
Transit Camps "Unfit for Human Habitation"
Resources: Share This New Bulletin Insert Next Sunday
US and Mexico: Hurricanes Prompt Spiritual Care and Kits
NIGER: UMCOR APPEALS FOR FAMINE RELIEF
UMCOR is rushing food aid to 55 villages in southern Niger where starvation
and malnourishment have become epidemic. Drought and locusts have created an
acute crisis, according to officials of the humanitarian agency of The United
Methodist Church. UMCOR is partnering with Swiss Interchurch Aid, known as
HEKS, which has long-term commitments in Niger. The United Methodist Church
in Switzerland is an alliance member.
HEKS will use an UMCOR grant to provide seeds, cattle fodder, and
staple foods such as milk powder in the southern region of Niger, an arid country north
of Nigeria and west of Chad. The people are in a desperate situation. Last
year’s harvest was practically nonexistent. Press reports portray families
feeding their children grass and leaves from trees to keep them alive.
Keep this Advance alive! Your gifts to UMCOR Advance #101250, All
Africa Drought and Famine, Niger, will provide ongoing assistance.
ZIMBABWE: TRANSIT CAMPS “UNFIT FOR HUMAN HABITATION”
Zimbabweans displaced by the government's effort to clear illegally built
vending sites and homes are now living in transit camps described by eye
witnesses as “unfit for human habitation.” Non-existent sanitation
is causing rampant illness. Children are missing their year-end exams. Shelter
and clothing are no match for the cold winter weather. People in one area
have dug small holes in the ground where they sleep at night to fend off
the bitter cold.
Food, Blankets, Support
Through a coordinated response by faith based agencies in Zimbabwe, 12 sites
have been selected to receive humanitarian aid. General feeding programs,
supplementary feeding for children, blankets, tents, sanitation and psycho-social
support will be provided. The Zimbabwe Council of Churches will also engage
in developing lobby groups at the local level as well as auditing of government
action and promises. Please help with a generous gift to newly established
UMCOR Advance #199456, Zimbabwe Emergency.
RESOURCES: SHARE THIS NEW BULLETIN INSERT ON SUNDAY
A new bulletin insert that interprets UMCOR’s
relief efforts in Niger and Zimbabwe is print friendly and quick to download. Find the insert at
our resources page on our web site. Consider a special offering to ensure
that your heart and hands can continue to work with vulnerable people in
these two devastated locations.
US AND MEXICO: HURRICANES PROMPT SPIRITUAL CARE AND KITS
Volunteer teams making repairs from last year’s Hurricane Ivan diverted
their energies to cleanup duty after Hurricane Dennis carved a ten-by-sixty-mile
swath July 10. But more assistance, in the form of both unskilled and skilled
labor, is needed from Labor Day through the fall. UMCOR will work with the
Alabama-West Florida annual conference staff in a coordinated response.
“Almost Unable to Cope”
The stress from last year's hurricanes and the recent storm has created an
anxiety level "that makes people almost unable to cope" when
hurricane warnings are issued, said the Rev. Tom Hazelwood, UMCOR’s
domestic disaster response executive. A focus on spiritual and
emotional
care is a high priority, he said.
In Mexico, Health Kit Distribution
Residents of Northeastern Mexico, where heavy rains from last week’s
Hurricane Emily stranded hundreds, will receive health kits in a delivery
this week. UMCOR is providing kits and cleanup supplies, and assessing additional
interventions, in partnership with the Methodist Church of Mexico.
Give—Contributions to United Methodist recovery efforts
can be designated to UMCOR Advance #982523, Hurricanes 2005
Global. Contribute online
at www.methodistrelief.org .
Go—Want to volunteer to help with hurricane cleanup? Learn how. Write
Mission Volunteers, voluntrs@gbgm-umc.org , for contact information for your
United Methodist Volunteers In Mission jurisdictional and conference coordinators.
They’ll provide details on how to create, train, and schedule a team.
For information on what sites are currently scheduling volunteers call the
Volunteer Hotline toll free at 800-918-3100.
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.
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Featured Photos
United Methodist Committee on Relief
Children watch as women pound millet at the village of Koumboula in
southern Niger. Credit:
Reuters/Finbarr O'Reilly, courtesy of www.alertnet.org
Zimbabwe
Click map above for larger view.
The blue tarp which was left over from the Hurricane Ivan recovery has
been mostly blown away by the winds of Hurricane Dennis. Credit:
Leif Skoogfors /FEMA.
More About UMCOR's Work
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