Reuters, UK
Aug 17 2005
The UMCOR Hotline
16 Aug 2005 19:12:00 GMT
Source: NGO latest
Rosita Cortez
United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) – USA
Website:
August 16, 2005
In Today’s Hotline:
Africa: All Africa Famine Relief;
Mexico: Health Kits Help;
India: Helping the Most Vulnerable; Armenia: Brave Heart is Healthy.
AFRICA: ALL AFRICA FAMINE RELIEF As news of famine in Niger continues
to grab world headlines, the numbers of starving people throughout
the African continent continues to grow. According to the Famine
Early Warning network and USAID, seven countries in Africa are facing
severe food shortages: Niger, Chad, Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia,
and Zimbabwe.
UMCOR is working to relieve suffering in several of these areas either
directly or through partner agencies such as ACT International. UMCOR
is providing immediate relief by supporting feeding centers and
is looking to prevent future food shortages through long-term
solutions. Your gifts to UMCOR Advance #101250, All Africa Drought
and Famine Relief will support this important work of providing food
for the hungry.
MEXICO: HEALTH KITS HELP Hurricane Emily wreaked havoc on villages in
northern Mexico late last month. People in small towns and with few
resources lost their homes, livelihoods and property in the storm.
The McAllen District in southern Texas is organizing United Methodists
to bring relief to Carboneras, a particularly hard-hit fishing village
in Mexico. UMCOR assisted their efforts by providing health kits
that were sent by UMCOR Sager Brown and distributed to residents in
Caroberas and another town.
Health kits are in high demand this year. They help people who
have lost their homes and possessions to keep themselves clean and
healthy. You can help UMCOR meet the many requests for this helpful
item and other material resources by giving to UMCOR Advance #901440,
Material Resources. To learn more about how you can make and send
health kits go to the UMCOR website.
INDIA: HELPING THE MOST VULNERABLE UMCOR and Churches Auxiliary for
Social Action (CASA) are partnering to deliver aid to the thousands of
people affected by the unprecedented floods in Mumbai and surrounding
areas of western India. Mumbai is one of India’s cosmopolitan cities
where the country’s financial and movie industries are located.
The 37 inches of rain that fell in 24 hours caused massive flooding
that took nearly a thousand lives and wiped out the livelihoods and
homes of many more people. Roughly 10,000 homes have collapsed in
the affected districts. Through this partnership food, potable water,
clothing, and other necessary items are being delivered to the most
vulnerable people.
Your prayers and gifts to UMCOR Advance #982450, International Disaster
Response, India Floods, will assist in a meaningful way.
ARMENIA: BRAVE HEART IS HEALTHY Today Qajik (meaning “Brave Heart”)
is running and playing with his friends in his village in Armenia. He
was not always that way. When he was just over a year old, Qajik was
not developing at the same rate as the other children. His family had
to borrow money to bring him to a pediatrician. The doctor said that
Qajik had a severe vitamin deficiency and needed a special diet and
multivitamins without knowing that this was financially out of reach
for them.
When they returned brokenhearted to the village they learned about a
local health post that could provide Qajik with the vitamins he needs
at no cost. Because of UMCOR’s support, this health center carries
vitamins and medicines that can be supplied at low or no cost to its
patients. Thanks to the multivitamins he received from UMCOR, Qajik is
now able to run and play with his friends and is living a normal life.
Your gifts to UMCOR Advance #250225, Armenia Emergency, support
UMCOR’s important work there.
UMCOR provides emergency relief in many areas of the world. To find out
more about UMCOR’s ministries, please visit umcor.org. You can donate
to any project by placing a contribution in the offering plate at a
local United Methodist church; by sending a check to UMCOR, PO Box
9068, New York, NY 10087-9068; or by calling 1-800-554-8583, where
credit card donations are accepted. UMCOR is exempt from tax under
section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of the United States and
qualifies for the maximum charitable contribution deduction by donors.
And, please pray for those who are hungry, displaced, sick or in
poverty because of these and other natural and human-made disasters,
and for the workers who minister to them.