Flooding has devastated large areas in India and Brazil. Torrential monsoon rains have pounded western India and now the southern state of Andhra Radesh has been hit. The death toll is over 150 and those homeless number in the hundreds of thousands. There is more loss to come as rivers breech their banks. UMCOR is in partnership with ACT (Action by Churches Together) to respond with emergency food aid and non-food relief packages. In northwest Brazil flooding has destroyed homes, demolished roads and lives have been lost. Funds are needed for medical supplies. To join in relief and recovery efforts please give to UMCOR's International Disaster Response, Advance #982450-8.

Church members are being asked to advocate for the Hunger Relief Act, introduced by Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., in the Senate (S. 1805) and Rep. James T. Walsh, R-N.Y., in the House (H.R. 3192). The act would allow legal immigrants to receive food stamps based on need rather than immigration status. Currently excluded from food stamps are immigrants arriving after Aug. 22, 1996, elderly people under 65 and most non-elderly adults, regardless of when they entered the United States.

Volunteers will be needed in Tajikistan in early spring 2001. Now is the time to start planning if you would like to take on a challenge. Two Youth Houses have recently opened and need playgrounds built and showers fixed. If you would like to know more about this volunteer opportunity, call 1-800-918-3100.

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.)

Please pray for all who suffer from natural and human-made disasters, hunger, and poverty.

See Also

• Homeless Villagers in India Face Diseases, ACT International, August 15, 2000