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Up to 20,000 Kosovar refugees in Macedonia will be resettled in the U.S. Relatives must submit an Affidavit of Relationship and a form indicating their readiness to sponsor. Local congregations interested in assisting relatives as they resettle their families should contact the UMCOR refugee resettlement office at 212-870-3807 or access the UMCOR Kosovo web page beginning Monday late afternoon, April 26. (http://gbgm-umc.org/umcor/emergency/kosovo.stm) The U.S. will also bring vulnerable refugees, those with serious medical conditions or other urgent needs.
UMCOR is disbursing nearly a million dollars which will be used by our ecumenical partners, UMCOR relief offices, and United Methodist Churches in Macedonia to respond to the refugees. In conjunction with the organization CitiHope International, UMCOR is planning to provide basic medical care to both Kosovars and their Albanian host families in Macedonia. These families, with very few resources have taken in tens of thousands of refugees. They currently have no access to medical care. Volunteer medical personnel and counselors will be needed. Call (800) 554-8583 and ask for Michael DeBorja.
Health kits are desperately needed. For information on assembling and shipping these kits, please call the UMCOR Depot at (800) 814-8765. Please continue your generous gifts to UMCOR s International Disaster Response #982450-8. You may give your gift through your local United Methodist Church, or call (800) 554-8583 to make a credit card donation.
Following the school shooting in Colorado, UMCOR staff, local United Methodist pastors and youth workers have been coordinating and providing counseling. Please pray for all who are affected by this tragedy.
UMCOR is responding to people suffering from the civil war in Angola. UMCOR is sending a grant to provide food, shelter, and medicine to Angolan refugees in the Republic of Congo. UMCOR is also responding to a request from the West Angola conference with three shipments of medicines. Your gifts to UMCOR's International Disaster Response, #982450-8 make this work possible.
Fourteen containers filled with food boxes, seeds, fertilizers and medicine have been shipped to North Korea for continuing famine relief efforts. Most of these relief items are destined for orphanages. Eight additional containers are ready for shipping. To join in this response, give to Advance #226435-0 North Korea Emergency.
UMCOR has sent a grant to the Dakotas and Minnesota Conferences for recovery efforts from the Upper Midwest Floods. Two years after the floods, United Methodists continue to help people rebuild. UMCOR is able to be there for the long-term after a disaster because of your generous gifts. To join in this continuing response, give to Advance #901680-3, the Bishops' Appeal for 1997 Spring Storms and Floods.
UMCOR is sending a series of grants over the next few months to the Methodist Church of Puerto Rico to assist with rebuilding and recovery from the devastation of Hurricane Georges. Your gifts to the Churchwide Appeal for Hurricanes 98, Advance #982515-0 continue to help people recover from both Hurricanes Georges and Mitch.
Please pray for those who suffer from war, violence, hunger and poverty.
UMCOR Hotline:
Phone: 1-800-841-1235
Web: http://gbgm-umc.org/UMCOR-Hotline/
E-mail: umcor@gbgm-umc.org
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