UMCOR Responds to the Earthquakes in Afghanistan

UMCOR is working with its partners Action for Churches Together (ACT) and Church World Service (CWS) in response to Monday's and Tuesday's strong earthquakes in Afghanistan. The quake's epicenter was in the Hindu Kush mountains 100 miles north of Kabul.

ACT reports that the district capital of Nahrin and surrounding villages were flattened. People in at least five villages have lost most of their homes. The weather is still cold, especially at night. People are in desperate need of shelter.

Because church agencies were already working in Afghanistan certain needed supplies were already available. Church World Service sent 7000 quilts from Quetta, Pakistan to Nahrin today (March 27). More quilts, and also tents and jerry cans for water, which are already in Kabul, will be transported by ACT member Norwegian Church Aid (NCA) to the airport on Thursday (March 28), and then flown to the area in Baghlan province hit by the earthquake. The transportation of goods is being co-ordinated by the UN

NCA is also sending the water equipment needed to provide safe drinking water to the area. The equipment, which is in Peshawar, Pakistan, will be taken to the affected area as soon as possible with the help of UNICEF.

Please join in this response by giving to International Disaster Response, Advance #982450. Designate "Afghanistan Earthquake." Give through your local United Methodist church or mail contributions to: UMCOR, 475 Riverside Dr., Room 330, New York, NY 10115. Call 800-554-8583 to make a credit card donation. You can also donate online. Click here to make a secure online gift. One hundred percent of your gift goes to the designated response. United Methodists' generous giving to the One Great Hour of Sharing, part of their ongoing contribution to mission around the world, supplements the cost of Advance gifts.

March 27, 2002

Photo: 1. UMCOR Shelter Kits prepared in Mercy Corps' Dushanbe, Tajikistan warehouses have been and are being shipped into remote areas of north east Afghanistan. Credit: UMCOR-Tajikistan, February 2002. 2. Nisar Ahmad demonstrates a water system installed by Norwegian Church Aid in Shalman Camp near Peshawar. The nylon storage bladder lasts about one day. Refills come by tank truck from a village well. Norwegian Church Aid is sending water equipment from Peshawar to Nahrin. Credit: Jonathan Frerichs/ACT International, February 2002.

News and Background

• "The Men Were Unable to Speak or Cry" (with photos), ACT, March 29, 2002.
• UMCOR's Assessment Report from the Scene of the Earthquakes (with photos).
• New Aftershocks Hit Afghanistan, Disaster News Network, March 27, 2002