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PHILIPPINES: TYPHOON HAIYAN RELIEF
Typhoon Haiyan damaged or destroyed more than 1.19 million homes and impacted more than 12 million people in 44 provinces when it tore across the Philippines on November 8. Nearly 6,000 people died in the super storm, and 1,779 were still missing a month later. It was the deadliest typhoon to ever strike the country.
Staff and volunteers of the Philippines office of the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) have worked tirelessly to provide assistance to survivors. In November, a convoy of three UMCOR vehicles carried emergency food supplies to survivors in the hard-hit city of Tacloban in Leyte Province. It was the first of five such UMCOR relief trips to be completed before the end of December.
UMCOR’s assistant general secretary for International Disaster Relief, the Rev. Jack Amick, expressed thanks for the generous outpouring of support by United Methodists and others of goodwill which made the relief trips possible. Amick traveled to the Philippines and accompanied the first relief convoy.
In 2014, UMCOR will broaden its support for Typhoon Haiyan survivors to encompass psychosocial support and the reconstruction or rehabilitation of permanent housing.
Your gifts to International Disaster Response, Advance #982450 support the relief efforts of this emergency and enable UMCOR to respond efficiently to other disasters as they occur.
US: TORNADO RESPONSE
Tornadoes wreaked havoc in communities from Texas to Minnesota this year, with a late spate of twisters tearing through the Midwest in November. UMCOR continues to be there for communities still recovering from these disasters.
UMCOR US Disaster Response executive, Greg Forrester, reached out to the affected conferences, offering prayers and solidarity. “UMCOR is prepared to support all affected conferences with funding, training, relief supplies, and expertise once assessments are made and needs are determined,” he said.
US: HURRICANE SANDY RECOVERY CONTINUES
A year after Hurricane Sandy flooded densely populated areas of the northeastern United States, much work still needs to be done. UMCOR is there for the long haul. UMCOR was awarded a $2.5 million grant from the American Red Cross to support some of these long-term efforts.
Across New Jersey, New York, and other areas affected by Hurricane Sandy, hundreds of people have been able to move back home. But there are also hundreds of people whose recovery is only just beginning, pointed out Denise Tiedemann, who fields calls from Hurricane Sandy survivors for A Future With Hope, a disaster-response program of the Greater New Jersey Annual Conference.
“I'm starting to sense a little more of a desperate tone from people who need help because the winter months are approaching,” said Tiedemann, who said she still receives at least a few phone calls a day from people who need assistance.
TURKEY: CHILD-FRIENDLY SPACES FOR SYRIAN REFUGEE CHILDREN
The burgeoning conflict in Syria has displaced millions of families and caused some two million children to drop out of school, according to UN reports. Not only are children missing out on their education, they also are being traumatized by the violence.
UMCOR is working with partner International Blue Crescent (IBC) to address the special needs of 400 Syrian refugee children in Turkey. Child-Friendly Spaces are being created for children to receive psychosocial care and education to help them deal with the anxieties of war.
More than 3,000 schools have been damaged or destroyed since the conflict in Syria began in March 2011. Child-Friendly Spaces offer war-affected children a safe place to learn and grow.
UMCOR remains committed to assisting displaced Syrians, working together with international partners. UMCOR Program Manager Nicholas Jaeger remarked, “The number of refugees and internally displaced persons from the Syria crisis continues to grow, as do the needs of those displaced. UMCOR will continue to explore ways to meet their needs.”
RELIEF SUPPLIES: MORE NEEDED THAN EVER
In 2013, UMCOR Sager Brown and UMCOR West experienced critical shortages of relief-supply kits given the increased need for the supplies in the United States and around the world. “We have shipped out more kits than ever,” said Material Resources Director Kathy Kraiza.
During 2013, a total of 536,946 kits went to 12 countries and to 12 states in the U.S. This is an increase of 12.5 percent as compared to 2012. Just in the month of December, five shipping containers full of health kits and school kits set out to Amman to benefit displaced Syrian refugees, and to Haiti.
Throughout 2013, health kits and school kits have been in urgent demand. Supplies of all kits (except cleaning buckets) are nearly exhausted. “We are looking to our United Methodist congregations and conferences to help us replenish these critically needed supplies,” Kraiza said.
Give to Material Resources, Advance #901440 to help UMCOR purchase these supplies in bulk
INDIA: CYCLONE PHAILIN RELIEF
UMCOR provided assistance to survivors of Cyclone Phailin, which destroyed more than 240,000 homes and 5,000 schools in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh, India. The storm also caused major crop damage.
UMCOR worked with longtime partner Church’s Auxiliary for Social Action (CASA) to provide relief for survivors. Assistance included emergency food rations for 1,000 families and plastic tarps to cover storm-battered homes.
Clean drinking water was also a critical need in Odisha. UMCOR partner Global Medic helped to meet that need by setting up water purification units in 15-30 of the affected locations.
SOUTH SUDAN: IMPROVING ACCESS TO WATER
UMCOR is helping communities in the South Sudan state of Northern Bahr el Ghazal (NBEG) to have better access to water and sanitation. NBEG sits along the border of Sudan in the new nation of South Sudan, and suffers from a lack of resources, especially water.
UMCOR’s South Sudan field office, with funds from the US government’s Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA, part of USAID), set about helping NBEG communities to improve their water, sanitation, and hygiene. Seven new boreholes have been drilled in the counties of Aweil West and Aweil North.
All in all, 34,456 people now have clean and safe water delivered to them—and 80,000 were provided with hygiene and sanitation information to increase their chances of fending off disease.
DR CONGO: UMCOR EXPANDS MALARIA AND HIV WORK
UMCOR was named a sub-recipient of a $1.3 million grant from The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria to support UMCOR’s work to combat malaria and HIV/AIDS in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The new grant will allow UMCOR to extend its malaria control work to four health zones while also inaugurating HIV/AIDS programming in 14 health zones. UMCOR is partnered with Santé Rural (Rural Health), or SANRU, the primary recipient of the Global Fund award. This is the second time these organizations have worked together on a Global Fund grant.
How You Can Help
You can support UMCOR in all of these efforts and more in the coming year by giving to UMCOR’s undesignated fund, UMCOR Advance #999895. This supports the general work of UMCOR and allows us to provide funding where it is most needed.
