Mozambique
Update /
26 June 2003
The Swedish Board of Global
Ministries have this month agreed to send $12,000 to
finance the construction of 4 flood-resistant houses in
Bandua.
The project in Bandua is being
directed by the UMC of Mozambique and is designed to
provide permanent, flood-resistant housing to replace
temporary accommodation in which people are living
following the destruction of their homes by floods.
26 March 2003
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UMCOR and UMC Germany provide vital food
supplies to these people affected by the current
drought and flooding in Mozambique. |
UMCOR's response
to Cyclone Japhet in Mozambique continues. In Inhambane
province alone, 23,000 people have been made homeless.
UMCOR is collaborating with The United Methodist Church of
Germany (EmK) in responding to the critical food shortages
caused by the most recent flooding. UMCOR has also given
funds to help reconstruct the Massinga Center for Elderly
Women, where several residences were destroyed by the
cyclone. This center is for older women who have been
abandoned by their families because they were accused of
witchcraft. Mozambique continues to suffer from the
effects of the devastating floods of 2000 as well as the
famine that is afflicting southern Africa.
21 March 2003
The German UMC
and UMCOR have co-ordinated their relief efforts and sent
a total of $21,000.00 for emergency food distribution this
week. 14 March 2003
Rev. Morais
Quissico, disaster co-ordinator for the United Methodist
Church in Mozambique, describes the current situation in
Northern Mozambique following recent flooding:
"I came back from Nampula Province (up North) last
night. The trip was successful in that I managed to visit
some seriously affected sites, met Government officials
and have gathered some useful information that will assist
us as we work toward minimising the impact of the tropical
depressions in both Central and Northern regions of
Mozambique this year. From the assessment I have made, I
learned that the situation is really bad, though the
Mozambique government considers it premature to declare a
state of emergency this time, due to the fact that this is
still the initial phase of the raining season which goes
up to April end. Otherwise, many bridges, access roads,
social infrastructures (schools, hospitals, church
buildings, etc) and hundreds of thousands of homes were
washed away. Some people were killed and others injured,
their goods swept away by the force of waters and the
cyclone "Delfina," more critical, their cultivations
destroyed and inundated, a situation which endangers the
food security for the vulnerable and already poor
Mozambicans of these regions for the following months."
Reports of a further tropical depression, hurricane
Jafete, this time in the south, in the province of
Inhambane, mean that the situation will only get worse as
the number of those who have lost everything continues to
increase.
The floods have hit at a time when the country is
already badly weighed down by extensive food shortages. An
estimated 650,000 people are said to be currently affected
after severe droughts last year.
Following heavy flooding in 2000 and 2001 as a result
of which thousands were made homeless, UMCOR made grants
to the UMC of Mozambique for flood relief and for their
second home-building project in Buzi. The project provides
permanent, flood-resistant housing to replace the tents in
which people are living at the moment.
Here are the details of grants made to the UMC in
Mozambique by UMCOR in 2002:
17 Jan - $94,566.00 for Mozambique floods
22 Jan - $25,000.00 for disaster preparedness seminar in
N. Mozambique
12 Nov - $86,250.00 for housing project in Buzi
The UMC in Mozambique continues to offer food
assistance and support for community and economic
development for those affected. This week UMCOR has sent
$10,000 to the UMC Mozambique for the immediate relief of
flood and drought victims in the southern regions.
If you are
viewing this site from Europe, you can send donations to
the EMK-Weltmission Germany at the bank EKK, account no.
401 773, sort code (BLZ) 60060606, swift code GENODEF1EK1.
If you are
viewing this site from North America, you can send
donations to UMCOR Advance # 156500 or send financial
contributions to UMCOR, 475 Riverside Drive, Room 330, New
York, NY 10115. Call (800) 554-8583 to make a credit card
donation.
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