Liberia Emergency Response

The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) is responding to the humanitarian crisis in Liberia as it recovers from war and violence. UMCOR has also assisted former child soldiers of Liberia to lay down their guns, return to school, and reclaim their lives as children. Northeast of Monrovia, the Ganta United Methodist Hospital is once again providing health care services.

You can help in two important ways: by contributing cash to replenish supplies or by assembling school kits and health kits. Please give to UMCOR Advance #150300, Liberia Emergency, noting the number and emergency on the memo line of your check written to UMCOR. Give through your local United Methodist church or mail contributions to: UMCOR, 475 Riverside Dr., Room 330, New York, NY 10115. Call 1-800-554-8583 to make a credit card donation. One hundred percent of your gift goes to relief and recovery efforts. 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.

News & Background

• Background and Resources.
• Help Revive Health Services at Ganta Hospital.
• Mission Profile: Liberia.
• UMCOR/Liberia: Ongoing Programs.
• Onsite and Partner News.
• Ganta United Methodist Hospital Provides Hope in Liberia, UMNS, February 3, 2005.
• Faith, Community, and Perseverance in Liberia, by Mary and Herbert Zigbuo, January 5, 2005.
• UMCOR Continues Work in Liberian Demobilization Camps, UMCOR, November 5, 2004.
• UMCOR Hotline, September 14, 2004.
• UMCOR Hotline, July 13, 2004.
• UMCOR Hotline, June 8, 2004.
• As Liberia Rebuilds, Bishop Urges Church's Continuing Support, UMNS, May 18, 2004.
• Liberians See New Signs of Hope and Restoration, Kathleen LaCamera, April 28, 2004.
• Ganta Hospital in Liberia Reopens March 15, UMNS, February 18, 2004.
• UMCOR Hotline, February 10, 2004
• United Methodist Missionaries Are Returning to Liberia, GBGM, November 21, 2003.
• Church Teams Assess Liberia's Needs in Wake of War, Joni Goheen, UMNS, November 21, 2003.
• Help Us Rebuild Our Hospital, Liberian Bishop Asks, Allafrica.com, November 12, 2003.
• UMCOR Hotline, November 7, 2003.
• UMCOR Hotline, September 19, 2003.
• Liberian Refugees in Tobanda camp, Pictures from Sierra Leone, UMCOR/Liberia.
• Liberians Glad to Receive Rice from Ecumenical Network, September 11, 2003.
• Threats to Security Jeopardize Humanitarian Assistance, ACT, September 11, 2003.
• Liberia: Healing a Battered Nation, UMCOR, August 29, 2003.
• Liberia's 'Unofficial War' by Rebel Forces Continues to Paralyze Parts of the Country, ACT, August 27, 2003.
• Tired of Running, Liberians Lack Basic Necessities, ACT, August 25, 2003.
• Influx of Aid Workers to Liberian Capital, ACT, August 25, 2003.
• Current Situation in Liberia, UMCOR NGO, August 14, 2003.
• Violence Leaves Most Liberian Churches Damaged, Official Says, UMNS, August 14, 2003.
• Liberian Bishop Seeks Relief for Country in Need, UMCOR, August 12, 2003.
• Liberian Church Leaders Ready to Rebuild a Shattered Society, UMCOR, August 5, 2003.
• Liberia Faces Humanitarian Crisis, Disaster News Network, August 2, 2003.
• Statement on the Crisis in Liberia, Randy Day, GBGM, July 22, 2003.
• United Methodist Missions Agency Head Urges Help for Liberia, Elliott Wright, July 22, 2003.
• Who Cares for This Kid? (Liberian Child Soldiers), Paul Dirdak, UMCOR, July 17, 2003.
• Liberians Seek Refuge in Sierra Leone, UMCOR, July 7, 2003.
• UMCOR Hotline, July 3, 2003.
• UMCOR Hotline, June 27, 2003.
• Tens of Thousands of People Left Destitute by Recent Fighting in Monrovia, ACT, June 27, 2003.
• Rescued Missionaries Fear For Liberia's Fate, UMR, July 2, 2003.
• UM Mission Personnel Evacuated from Liberia, GBGM, June 25, 2003.
• UMCOR Hotline, June 6, 2003.
• UMCOR Hotline, March 28, 2003.
• ACT Members Help Displaced People, ACT, May 2, 2002.
• Bishop Reports Situation Stable in Liberia, A Message From Dr. Randolph Nugent, General Secretary, GBGM, February 21, 2002.
• UMCOR Hotline, February 15, 2002.
• Thousands Flee Fighting in Northern Liberia, ACT, February 11, 2002.
• UMCOR Hotline, December 14, 2001.
• Suffering: A Harsh Daily Reality in Guinea Refugee Camps, ACT, November 2001.
• The Ravages of War and Challenges of Recovery in Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, UMCOR Inasmuch Update, Fall 2001.
• Working Together for Health (about Ganta Hospital), New World Outlook, March-April 2001.

Offsite News and Features

• The Sisters-in-arms of Liberia's War, The Christian Science Monitor, August 26, 2003.
• Too Little to Run, USCR, July 11, 2003.
  USCR policy analyst Joel Frushone, currently on a site visit to West Africa, recounts the heartrending story of 50 orphaned children who were forced to flee their orphanage in Liberia and have found safety - but little else - in a refugee camp in Guinea.
• Agencies Dogged by Liberian Insecurity, Reuters AlertNet, July 9, 2003.
• USCR Analyst in Côte d'Ivoire Says Thousands Face Uncertain Fate, USCR, June 30, 2003.
• Diary of a Liberian Aid Worker, Part II, BBC News.
• Diary of a Liberian Aid Worker, Part I, BBC News.
• Q&A: Liberia's conflict, BBC News.
• Tens of thousands displaced by fighting near Monrovia, UNCHR, June 6, 2003.
• Children of Conflict: A Human Rights Issue, BBC Special Report, 1999
  Warning: The stories of children are disturbing and may contain references to violence, including sound recordings of interviews with children. You may find hearing the children more upsetting than reading their stories.

Ongoing News

• Liberia: GBGM News and Features.
• ACT International News.
• Africa News: Liberia.
• Relief Web, United Nations, Liberia
  ReliefWeb is a project of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). When a disaster strikes, it features news from UMCOR and other relief agencies.
  

Maps and Photos

• Africa, Maps (1998 and 1999), various formats
• Liberia Photo Library (GBGM)

Photo: Jana Kia, a young girl living in Jahtondo IDP camp, helps fix a shelter that is collapsing under the weight of recent rain. The tarpaulins that normally protect the shelters during the heavy rainy season were looted by LURD soldiers on July 19,2003 when they attacked the camp and forced people to run away. People are slowly starting to return. Credit: Callie Long/ACT International, August 2003. Click on photo to see a larger version.