UMCOR to Supply Emergency Relief in Iran

December 31, 2003

NEW YORK-- The United Methodist Committee on Relief is providing an emergency grant of $10,000 to faith-based partners in Bam, southeastern Iran. Following the deadly earthquake that killed, injured or left homeless tens of thousands, funds will supplement installation of tents and provide clean drinking water. The agency will also cooperate in underwriting pastoral care for stricken families.

Two international field specialists will be on their way from the humanitarian aid organization of The United Methodist Church to the devastated area in the next few days. The pair will assess needs for additional immediate aid as well as for longer term reconstruction. Guy Hovey, UMCOR's head of mission for Europe and Asia, and David Sadoo, disaster specialist based in New York, may reach Iran within the week. The agency has also launched an appeal for funds from local United Methodist Churches.

UMCOR and its partners will transport and erect 400 family-size tents, arriving today. Each accommodates ten people. Weather-proof and sturdy, the tents can be used for several years while more permanent shelter can be built.

Replacement shelter has been a specialty of UMCOR in its work throughout Afghanistan, Turkey and the former republic of Yugoslavia, according to Paul Dirdak, UMCOR's chief executive. "UMCOR's excellent experience following the earthquakes in Turkey and El Salvador puts the organization in a good position to provide help in Iran," he said. UMCOR will also assist with delivery of clean drinking water, rehabilitation of damaged springs and wells and establishing temporary sanitation facilities. The assessment team will review other long-term strategies.

"The hearts of all United Methodists go out to the Iranians whose lives were shattered by the devastating earthquake at Bam," said R. Randy Day, chief executive of the denomination's Gemeral Board of Global Ministries, which administers UMCOR. "We think particularly of the children-- those killed and those left orphaned."

Emergency supplies and money are critical needs. Randy Day and Paul Dirdak urged United Methodists to respond in two key ways while UMCOR workers make their way to Iran. The agency expects to provide health kits and school kits, among other supplies, to Iran in coming weeks. Specifications for assembly may be found online at http://gbgm-umc.org/umcor/kits.cfm. Gifts to a newly established UMCOR Advance #624315, Iran Earthquake, will underwrite additional humanitarian assistance to the stricken area and "express solidarity with all who suffer there."Day said.

Iranian officials are estimating the death toll around Bam and its outlying areas will exceed 40,000-- nearly half the population. A United Nations official estimated that 90 percent of all homes in Bam were destroyed. In a statement released in Geneva Tuesday, the official urged international cooperation "to respond generously to the needs of the survivors in this disaster."

UMCOR's partners in Iran, the Middle East Council of Churches and Norwegian Church Aid, made emergency assessments last weekend. Efforts spearheaded by the Red Crescent to channel aid to about 120,000 people in quake-stricken outlying villages were falling afoul of freezing weather and the sheer scale of the disaster that has left tens of thousands without water, power or shelter.

UMCOR is the not-for-profit humanitarian agency of The United Methodist Church. Since 1940 UMCOR's mission-- providing relief in disaster areas such as Iran, aiding refugees and confronting the challenge of world hunger and poverty-- has helped to heal the hurts of humanity in nearly 100 countries. UMCOR maintains a corps of trained disaster response specialists for quick reinforcement of national efforts, and it keeps a supply of relief materials in warehouses for dispatch when and where required. For disasters outside the United States, UMCOR serves as the primary channel for United Methodist assistance. It also trains disaster response specialists in their own countries as part of a global ministry by a global church, and it works in partnership with other international agencies.

Photo: A woman and her son stand in front of rubble following the earthquake in Bam. The death toll may reach 50,000.Credit: Reuters/Fatih Saribas, courtesy AlertNet, http://www.alertnet.org.

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