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UMCOR Updates 1999
June 4, 1999: UMCOR is continuing to provide funding to help meet the needs of those suffering in Albania, Macedonia, Montenegro, Hungary, Bosnia, and the Former Republic of Yugoslavia.
The Food Resource Bank (FRB), of which UMCOR is a member, has coordinated the distribution of various packaged and bulk foods and fresh, local produce to refugees and host families. UMCOR in collaboration with the FRB, has assisted an additional 10,000 Kosovo refugees by implementing a vegetable garden seeds program.
This refugee boy received bread as part of the Kosovo Emergency Relief effort. Credit: Els Scholte/ACT International. Copyright © Action for Churches Together.
UMCOR and Citihope International are making arrangements for an airlift in mid-June of millions of dollars worth of medical supplies and pharmaceuticals that will serve 250,000 refugees and their host families in Tetevo, Macedonia.
United Methodists in Central Europe have funded a project under the leadership of Bishop Heinrich Bolleter to develop a healing center for women and children who have been abused and victimized during their expulsion from Kosovo and flight to safety in Macedonia. Macedonian United Methodists are also providing a variety of outreach programs to assist the Kosovo refugees in the greater Skopje area. United Methodist Volunteers in Mission will be recruited to assist in providing direct medical care, administrative services, and post traumatic stress counseling.
UMCOR staff in Bosnia have provided technical and engineering assistance for the construction of two camps serving ethnically diverse refugees, and they continue to work with ACT (Action by Churches Together) to provide food for thousands of refugees. UMCOR has shipped three containers of food, kitchen packs, medicine boxes, baby food, and hygiene and school kits for distribution by UMCOR staff and volunteers in Bosnia.
To support these relief efforts, please continue your gifts to UMCOR's International Disaster Response, #982450.
UMCOR is currently assigning Kosovar refugee cases where churches (in areas where CWS/UMCOR can resettle refugees) are ready to sponsor. Local congregations are urged to consider sponsorship and co-sponsorship needed for families from Kosovo and from Africa. For further information please see the UMCOR website at http://gbgm-umc.org/umcor/refugees/resettle.stm or contact UMCOR's refugee office at 1-212-870-3807; fax: 1-212-870-3624.
United Methodists have prepared and shipped tens of thousands of health kits to UMCOR Depot for the refugees. For information on other types of kits (sewing, school, layette) that are needed, please call the Depot at 1-800-814-8765.
UMCOR is receiving a donation of up to 5,000 blankets for Kosovar refugees from Stewart Blankets who received requests for 63,500 blankets from hundreds of relief organizations.
May 10: UMCOR is continuing to provide funding to help meet the needs of those suffering in Albania, Macedonia, Montenegro, Hungary, Bosnia, and the Former Republic of Yugoslavia. The Food Resource Bank has begun coordination for distributing various packaged and bulk foods and fresh, local produce to refugees and host families.
UMCOR in Bosnia is working diligently with UNHCR (United Nations High Commission on Refugees) and the government of Bosnia-Herzegovina to meet the needs of the approximately 75,000 Serbian, Ethnic Albanian, and Sanjak Muslim refugees that have gathered in the Sarajevo area. Currently, about 300 refugees a day are finding their way into the Sarajevo area. Engineers from UMCOR-Bosnia are providing technical assistance for the building of refugee camps by the government and UNHCR. In order to implement the feeding programs targeting 5500 refugee families in the area, UMCOR has donated $10,000 in emergency response funds, $35,000 from the Relief and Development Fund, and ACT has funded a total of $454,000. These funds will provide food for the families for a three month period. UMCOR has shipped an additional three containers of food, kitchen packs, Medicine Boxes, baby food, and hygiene and school kits for distribution by UMCOR staff and volunteers in Bosnia.
UMCOR will provide $250,000 of support to Citihope International to arrange two airlifts of pharmaceuticals, medical supplies and medical equipment valued at approximately $6 million. The first airlift will arrive in Skopje, Macedonia on or about June 7th. The second airlift will arrive about 30 days later. Supplies will be donated to the Tetovo Hospital to be dedicated to serving the needs of the refugees and their host families. Health Kits and other needed hygiene supplies will be distributed in large quantities to refugees and host families. United Methodist Volunteers in Mission will be recruited to assist in providing direct medical care, administrative services, and post traumatic stress counseling.
United Methodists in Central Europe have funded a project under the leadership of Bishop Heinrich Bolleter to develop a healing center for women and children who have been abused and victimized during their expulsion from Kosovo and flight to safety in Macedonia. Macedonian United Methodists are also providing a variety of outreach programs to assist the Kosovo refugees in the greater Skopje area.
April 26: Directors of the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries voted April 22, 1999 to release $800,000 for the Kosovo refugee crisis. (Read more) Needs for this emergency continue.