Vol. 8, No. 2 Summer 2000

International Disaster Response

Responding to Survivors of Disasters Big and Small

Some international disasters, like the Turkey earthquakes and the Kosovo crisis, capture the media's attention and receive major, extended coverage. When heart-rending pictures of earthquake survivors and camps full of refugees are before our eyes on a daily basis, we cannot help but be moved; we cannot help but respond. When the media gives such extensive coverage to a national or international crisis, UMCOR's phones ring steadily and gifts pour in. United Methodists and others gave millions of dollars for the crises in Kosovo and Turkey. UMCOR has been able to carry out extensive recovery and rebuilding projects because of this generosity.

But there are many other disasters, both human-made and natural, that do not receive such media coverage. Some of them, like the cyclone that hit the Orissa region of India last year or the civil war in Sierra Leone are just as devastating and affect as many people as the Turkey and Kosovo emergencies. But for one reason or another they do not capture the same media and public attention. And there are many smaller-scale emergencies that the general public never hears about. They may not involve as many people, but they are just as devastating to those who have been affected. People suffer, whether we see pictures of it or not. This is why your gifts to UMCOR's International Disaster Response, Advance #982450-8 are so important. They enable UMCOR to relieve human suffering regardless of the size of the disaster or the amount of attention the world has paid it. Below are some examples of how your gifts make a difference.

DR Congo Refugee Children- 19518 Bytes

Displaced and refugee children wait for a simple meal at an UMCOR-sponsored feeding center in the Democratic Republic of Congo. See larger picture.

Recently, there have been both human and natural-made disasters in the Philippines. A storm devastated a small fishing village–12 fisherman were killed and all the village's fishing boats were lost. With just $3,000 from International Disaster Response, the remaining villagers were able to purchase a boat and begin again. The ongoing civil strife in Mindanao province has affected more than 300,000 people, dislocating entire communities. With a grant from UMCOR the United Methodist Church in the Philippines is providing emergency relief, helping to repair and rebuild houses, and replant crops.

The super cyclone that hit the Indian state of Orissa last October left 15 million people stranded, homeless and hungry. Thousands of people died. UMCOR sent immediate financial assistance, and continued to respond, months later, to provide relief materials, temporary shelter, dry rations and basic medical facilities. When most of us have long forgotten a disaster like the cyclone, the survivors still struggle to recover. With your gifts, UMCOR can continue to respond.

Native peoples of Siberia have suffered over the past years from a severe food shortage in the winter. Though most of us never heard of their plight, UMCOR supported the Alaska Missionary Conference's efforts to provide food to their brothers and sisters who are so close geographically and ethnically, but who, until recent years, have been separated by political boundaries.

Torrential rains, flooding and landslides devastated Venezuela last December. Media coverage was vivid but short-lived. With gifts to International Disaster Response, UMCOR was able to join with our ecumenical partners to provide assistance to those who lost their homes, family members, possessions, and livelihoods.

There are many other critical situations that UMCOR has responded to in the past year: earthquakes and landslides in Mexico; economic crisis in Nigeria; civil strife in Indonesia, East Timor, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola, Burundi, and Sierra Leone; and the Taiwan earthquake. Some of these we may remember well, some we may vaguely recall, and others we will have never heard about. Yet UMCOR is able to respond–sending financial assistance, material resources, even disaster response consultants–because of your gifts to International Disaster Response. UMCOR is committed to being pro-active. Our response should be driven by need, not by public attention. With your generous gifts to UMCOR's International Disaster Response, Advance #982450-8, United Methodists can reach out to people who are suffering regardless of the scale of the disaster or the scope of media coverage.

Checks may be placed in United Methodist church offering plates or sent directly to UMCOR at 475 Riverside Drive, Room 330, New York, N.Y. 10115. Call (800) 554-8583 to make a credit card donation.