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What is now Hurricane Michelle has caused massive flooding in Honduras and Nicaragua, almost exactly three years after Hurricane Mitch ravaged the region. Several people are dead or missing and more than 115,000 have had to flee their homes. These numbers are expected to rise as reports arrive from isolated areas. UMCOR partners in the two countries are responding by assisting with rescue operations and gathering relief items which will be transported to the affected areas as soon as possible. The areas that are now dealing with flooding have been experiencing a prolonged drought. There are no crops to harvest and people do not have money to buy food. Please give generously to Hurricanes 2001, Advance #982350. Your gifts will also be used to help people in the Houston, Texas area recover from the devastation of Tropical Storm Allison and to provide hurricane recovery assistance in Mexico and Belize.
The UMCOR office in Tajikistan is working with local groups in Afghanistan to distribute winter shelter items to displaced Afghan citizens in the border region. UMCOR continues to work with our partners in Pakistan to assess the needs of refugees in that country and develop further response plans. In New York City, volunteers continue to provide counseling and listening centers in several locations. As the holidays approach, UMCOR staff anticipate that the demand for this ministry will increase. As the economic impact of the September 11 tragedies grows, UMCOR is developing plans to provide case management for more people throughout the area who have been affected. Case managers work with people to help them access the resources they need to recover. Disaster response workers from the Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference are in New York to work with Native Americans in the city who have been affected. This past week, UMCOR provided case management training for an organization that works with undocumented people from Latin America who lost loved ones or jobs in the World Trade Center collapse. Your gifts to Love in the Midst of Tragedy, Advance #901125-3 will make it possible for UMCOR to respond to the long-term needs of people in the United States and other countries who are suffering from the events of September 11 and their aftermath.
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 Also being offered are workshops on children and trauma for parents and others who care for children and youth. To find out more, please call (202) 548-4002.
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.
