FROM THE FIELD
In Today's Hotline: Read how UMCOR is responding to needs around the world:
PHILIPPINES: Typhoon Ketsana Response ARMENIA: World Food Day, Oct. 16 JFON: Setting a Captive Free EVENT: Mental Illness Awareness WeekPHILIPPINES: TYPHOON KETSANA RESPONSE
On Sept. 27, Typhoon Ketsana unleashed it power on the island of Luzon in the Philippines. Hours of heavy rains caused flashfloods and landslides. Homes were washed away and many people were forced to flee to rooftops for safety. Nearly half a million people have been displaced and 246 people are reported dead. Manila, Muntinlup and Taguig regions were hardest hit. BBC news reports indicated that 80 percent of Manila is underwater.
UMCOR Philippines is working with its local partners including Action by Churches Together (ACT) and the National Council of Churches to provide relief to those affected by Typhoon Ketsana. The agencies are in the beginning stages of assessing the damage.
Your gifts are urgently needed to assist affected families. Please support this relief effort by giving to Philippines Emergency, UMCOR Advance #240235. For more information on how UMCOR is responding, click here.
ARMENIA: WORLD FOOD DAY, OCT. 16
In Armenia, poverty affects one-third of the country's population. Most state-run institutions depend on state allocations or international assistance to supply their food needs. UMCOR and Foods Resource Bank (FRB) are helping orphanages and institutions for the elderly develop their own sustainable, in-house food processing systems.
Through trainings on livestock management, cattle breeding, beekeeping, nutrition and food processing, more than 750 adults and children throughout six state-run institutions in Armenia have improved diets and a better quality of life.
World Food Day is Oct. 16. United Methodists are encouraged to respond globally to preserve human dignity by supporting programs that help people feed themselves and their families. Learn more about UMCOR's work in Armenia by downloading World Food Day: Creating Sustainable Systems church bulletin, and support programs like these by giving to Armenia Emergency, UMCOR Advance #250225.
JFON: SETTING A CAPTIVE FREE
In 1998, Lucrecia Sanchez*, a civil rights activist, fled Guatemala after receiving numerous death threats. She was sold as a sex slave by her assistant and suffered for many months before escaping.
In April 2008, Sanchez was arrested in a workplace raid in Chattanooga, Tenn., Volunteer attorneys, Spring Miller and Katherine Dix-Esquivel for the Justice For Our Neighbors (JFON) Tennessee clinic, were moved by Sanchez' story and accepted her case.
JFON gathered proof that she had been subjected to human trafficking. After fifteen months and much perseverance, JFON's application for a T-Visa (victims of trafficking) on Sanchez's behalf was granted. She now lives in safety and security, and is free from deportation.
Support the JFON ministry which works for the rights of immigrants and asylum seekers. Give to JFON, UMCOR Advance # 901285.
*not her real name.
EVENT: MENTAL ILLNESS AWARENESS WEEK
Faith leaders are often not informed about mental illness and may not know how to provide appropriate pastoral care to families living with mental illnesses. United Methodists are encouraged to observe Mental Illness Awareness Week the first week of October.
Oct. 6 is the National Day of Prayer for Mental Illness Awareness Recovery and Understanding, and on Oct. 8, parish nurses and United Methodists congregations are invited to take part in the National Depression Screening Day (NDSD) Community Response Program to meet the social, physical, and mental needs of those suffering from depression, anxiety disorders, and more.
You may download NDSD screening information or click here to register online.
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. ]
Food and hunger
Health
Refugees & displacement
Armenia
Philippines
United States of America
