  |
|
Gifts to Love in the Midst of Tragedy, Advance #901125-3 continue to be used to provide relief both within the United States and for the people of Afghanistan. Through Church World Service, UMCOR has helped distribute 2500 shelter kits in central Afghanistan. These kits include a family-sized tent, ground cloth, plastic sheeting, and blankets. Three thousand additional shelter kits are being delivered to displaced people in the Jalalabad region. UMCOR is also supporting an emergency quilt project among refugee women in Quetta, Pakistan. Afghan women will earn money by producing 40,000 quilts in the next three months, which will be purchased by relief groups and distributed to those who have been displaced from their homes. With an additional request from the United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees, the project is expected to double and produce 80,000 quilts. UMCOR staff in Tajikistan are working with international partners to provide food to Afghan citizens in the border region of Afghanistan and Tajikistan.
In the New York area, volunteers continue to staff the listening posts at several city churches. A special emphasis is being placed on working with people from marginalized communities who have been affected; these include undocumented people from Latin America and Native American steelworkers. UMCOR is providing case management training for an organization that works with undocumented workers and their families. Many young people from Central America worked at the World Trade Center and their families in their home countries have not heard from them since the attacks. Disaster response workers from the Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference are coming to New York to build support networks among urban Native American steelworkers who are either working at the recovery site or have lost their employment due to the economic consequences of the attacks. Your gifts to Advance #901125-3 will make it possible for UMCOR to continue to respond to the aftermath of the September 11 tragedies in the US and around the world.
UMCOR is offering a grant program called, "Honoring Differences in the Midst of Hate and Violence." The program provides a way for annual conferences and local churches to create innovative joint projects with Islamic and American-Arab organizations and other groups of people who may be experiencing stereotyping and hostility in response to the attacks. Grants will be awarded to projects that have peace-building goals of increasing understanding, building trust, and establishing an inclusive community that honors differences. To find out more, call the UMCOR Emergency Services Office at (202) 548-4002 or e-mail w-mrudolph@worldnet.att.net For information about holding a workshop in your area on children and trauma , you may also call (202) 548-4002.
Please remember the millions of people throughout Africa who continue to suffer from famine caused by war and drought. UMCOR has received recent requests for famine relief from Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Namibia. In all three countries, UMCOR is supporting projects for people displaced by war. UMCOR is providing agricultural assistance in Angola and Namibia, and support for feeding centers for malnourished children in the D.R. Congo. Please give generously to Africa Famine Relief, Advance #101250.
Gifts may be made through local United Methodist churches, or by calling 1-800-554-8583. Credit card donations are accepted. (Read more about how you can help UMCOR's emergency responses.)
UMCOR is providing emergency relief in many areas of the world. To find out more about current UMCOR ministries, please visit the website: http://gbgm-umc.org/umcor/
Please pray for those who suffer from hunger, poverty, natural and human-caused disasters.
