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November 10, 1998
A ship full of food for Hurricane Mitch survivors is set to leave Houston Nov. 11, bound for Honduras. Organizers of the shipment are the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), Jesse Stokely, a member of First United Methodist Church in Houston, and the Christian Alliance for Humanitarian Aid Inc., a Houston-based group.
In other action related to Hurricane Mitch recovery efforts, UMCOR is:
All of UMCOR's relief work is being coordinated with its church partner agencies, the Christian Commission on Development (CCD) in Honduras and the Council of Evangelical Churches (CEPAD) in Nicaragua, as well as with United Methodist missionaries in the area. Two of UMCOR's disaster response experts separately made assessment visits to Honduras and Nicaragua during the week of Nov. 2.
The extensive devastation caused by the late October hurricane has slowed the response, according to the Rev. Tom Hazelwood, UMCOR's disaster response network manager. He expects the work to remain in an emergency phase "for a month or more."
The rain generated by the hurricane did the most damage by creating floods and mudslides, washing away entire villages and fields of crops, and destroying most of the infrastructure -- roads, bridges, buildings -- in Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala.
Statistics in the Nov. 9 edition of the New York Times listed 6,420 dead and 4,621 missing in Honduras; 4,000 dead and 1,300 missing in Nicaragua; 194 dead and 246 missing in Guatemala; and 239 and 131 missing in El Salvador.
U.S. government officials, who already have committed $70 million for relief, have estimated that recovery will take several years and possibly cost billions of dollars.
UMCOR has received many calls from volunteers eager to help immediately, but Hazelwood said that simply is not possible because of the damage to the infrastructure. Lack of transportation, for example, is a crucial problem. Many areas still can only be reached by helicopter.
The partner agencies, he explained, "are not prepared at this moment to receive any teams." But he promised that a more structured volunteer response would be organized in the near future.
UMCOR also is trying to organize medical teams to go into the region and is seeking volunteers for those groups. Fluency in Spanish is a requirement, Hazelwood added.
All volunteers for future work teams should call UMCOR's Volunteer Line at (800) 918-3100.
Information about shipments to the UMCOR Depot is available by calling 1-800-814-8765.
Donations can be sent by check to UMCOR, earmarked for "Hurricanes 98," Advance #982515-0, and designated to a specific country if desired. Checks can be dropped in church collection plates or mailed to UMCOR, 475 Riverside Drive, Room 330, New York, NY 10115.
Update November 12, 1998: Ship Delayed to Receive More Food.
Church World Service, the relief agency of the National Council of Churches, also is working with the CCD in Honduras. A shipment to CCD valued at $45,000 will include tents, rice, beans, powdered milk, and health and layette kits. Another $40,000 was sent from its blanket fund monies. Church World Service also has sent $20,000 to a partner agency in Nicaragua.
Pastors for Peace, a project of the Interreligious Foundation for Community Organization, has a previously planned caravan of aid leaving San Antonio, Texas, on Nov. 15 and arriving in Nicaragua at the end of the month. More information is available at the group's World Wide Web site, www.ifconews.org.
Source: United Methodist News Service.
