FROM THE FIELD
In Today's Hotline: Read how UMCOR is responding to needs around the world:
PHILIPPINES: TYPHOON RESPONSE US: FLOODED CHURCH STAYS MISSION FOCUSED KENYA: FEEDING THE HUNGRY SOUTH AFRICA: SHADE PROVIDES REFUGEUMCOR's Philippine office which opened at the end of July is already in full swing providing assistance after two typhoons struck Zambales, a province in the Central Luzon region of the country. UMCOR staff members are assessing the situation with local partners including Kapaatiran-Kaunlaran Foundation Inc. (KKFI), formerly the Methodist Social Center, an organization the works with the poor. UMCOR is already distributing 300 bags of food relief to survivors who were displaced by the storms.
You can support UMCOR's work in the Philippines by giving to Philippines Emergency, UMCOR Advance #240235.
US: FLOODED CHURCH STAYS MISSION FOCUSED
A year after Cedar Rapids, Iowa experienced historic flooding in 2008, Salem United Methodist Church, which was inundated by 10 feet of water, is staying mission focused.
The Rev. John Louk of Salem UMC plans to relocate or rebuild the church on another piece of property outside of town. In the meantime, the church, which is temporarily worshiping in Kenwood Park UMC, is active in ministry. Salem UMC members are helping families resume their normal lives after the flood and is helping others abroad by assembling school kits for UMCOR. Salem UMC is also raising money for Zimbabwe, Nothing But Nets and other ministries in Africa, as well as supporting a local Justice for Our Neighbors clinic.
"I visited Cedar Rapids, Iowa last week and was moved to see the way God is at work," said Tom Hazelwood, UMCOR's disaster response executive.
You can help the Midwest recover by giving to Domestic Disaster Response, UMCOR Advance #901670.
Kenya is experiencing one of the worst famines in recent years. Many communities have lost all of their crops and farm animals due to insufficient rainfall this year. Children in the affected areas are not attending school regularly due to the hunger situation, and many people have been deprived of their livelihoods.
UMCOR is supporting the Methodist Church of Kenya by providing emergency food supplies to 1,200 people facing starvation. Food supplements will be provided to 300 children under the age of five and de-worming medication will be distributed to both children and adults.
UMCOR will also provide assistance for church staff unable to care for their families or provide adequate care for congregations in affected areas.
You can support this effort by giving to International Disaster Response, UMCOR Advance #982450.
SOUTH AFRICA: SHADE PROVIDES REFUGE
Charles,* a young man from Zimbabwe, is the sole bread winner for his family. He is determined to feed his family for at least one week. In the midst of his country's economic crisis, famine and poverty troubles, Charles risked crossing Africa's Limpopo River to find employment.
With no legal papers or passport in hand, Charles escaped encounters with soldiers on border patrol and went without food or water for days. When he arrived in Cape Town, South Africa, he received refugee assistance from SHADE (Sojourner, Help, Advocacy, Development, Education), a ministry supported by UMCOR. Now Charles has the legal documentation to work and support his family back home.
SHADE is a program of Woodstock Methodist Church in South Africa that provides refugee assistance and work opportunities for thousands of people displaced by conflict. The ministry offers life skills training, food programs, HIV/AIDS education, counseling, and more. Support this ministry with your gifts to SHADE, UMCOR Advance #180001.
Name has been changed.
MEXICO: UMCOR SUPPLIES GIVE HOPE TO MIGRANTS
In July, Patricia Magyar, UMCOR Health executive, and intern Natalie Sue Brown joined the Rev. Max Cisneros and volunteers from Desert Ministries on a health mission.
They traveled with a cart filled with UMCOR medical supplies to those gathering at El Comedor, a ministry run by the Catholic Church and a stop along the Arizona-Mexico border in Nogales, Mexico. El Comedor is frequented by immigrants who stop by to eat and receive medical treatment after traveling many miles in the harsh desert by foot.
"We milled about the center and listened to migrants. We washed blistered feet and applied Neosporin and gauze to help heal the open wounds," said Patricia Magyar, UMCOR Health executive.
UMCOR has been a supplier of ointment, gauze and other health supplies to Desert Ministries for three years through the Medicine Box program. You can contribute to a Medicine Box by giving to Medicine Box, UMCOR Advance #982630.
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. You can also give online at givetomission.org. 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.
United Methodist Committee on Relief
General Board of Global Ministries, The United Methodist Church
Room 330, 475 Riverside Drive, New York, NY 10115
Voice Phone: 1-212-870-3816; FAX: 1-212-870-3624
Email: umcor@gbgm-umc.org
Web: http://www.umcor.org
UMCOR. Be There. Be Hope.
UMCOR's mission is to alleviate human suffering-whether caused by war, conflict, or natural disaster-with open minds and hearts to all people.
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
Floods
Food and hunger
Refugees & displacement
Kenya
Mexico
Philippines
South Africa
United States of America
