* Any views expressed in this article are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.
In Today's Hotline: Read how UMCOR is responding to needs around the world:
HAITI: TWO EMH SCHOOLS TO BE REBUILT
US: HEALTH CARE FOR TEXAS COLONIAS
UMCOR: HUMAN-TRAFFICKING AWARENESS DAY APPROACHES
CAMBODIA: DROUGHT DESTROYS RICE CROPS
SUDAN: GOING THE DISTANCE FOR WATER
UMCOR: HOLIDAY PHOTO CONTEST
December 21, 2010
HAITI: TWO EMH SCHOOLS TO BE REBUILT
Some 418 students will have a new, safe place to learn and succeed thanks to a grant from the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) that matched another from the Association des Amis d’Haiti (ASAH).
The grants will allow the reconstruction of two schools in the Methodist Church of Haiti education system, Bois Gency and Hyacinthe, which were damaged in the January 12, 2010, earthquake. The schools will be rebuilt according to hurricane- and earthquake-resistance standards.
Learn more about UMCOR’s long-term relief and recovery work in Haiti. Your gift to Haiti Emergency, UMCOR Advance #418325, supports UMCOR’s partnership with the people of Haiti as they seek to rebuild their country. One hundred percent of your gift helps the Haitian people.
US: HEALTH CARE FOR TEXAS COLONIAS
Hurricane Dolly hit South Texas in 2008. Measured as only a Category 2 storm, the hurricane didn’t seem too bad to Lower Rio Grande Valley residents—that is, to those in urban areas. Many colonias—small, rural neighborhoods located outside city limits—were, in fact, in shambles.
The hurricane turned out to be a call to action for the Pharr Literacy Project and Cultural Arts Center (PLP), which, with support from UMCOR, is training community-based primary health workers to respond to the health needs of colonia residents, many of whom are extremely poor.
Read the full story. Your gift to Congregational Health, Advance #3021045, supports programs like this one, which bring health and hope to vulnerable communities.
UMCOR: HUMAN-TRAFFICKING AWARENESS DAY APPROACHES
The US Senate has designated January 11 as a “National Day of Human Trafficking Awareness.” The US State Department estimates that 12.3 million people are currently in forced labor, bonded labor, and forced prostitution around the world. Most of those affected are adult women and children.
The United Nations says trafficking in persons is a “low risk/high reward crime” that is based on coercion, deception, fraud, or abuse and that also “takes advantage of conflicts, humanitarian disasters, and the vulnerability of people in situations of crisis.” It is a serious human rights violation that also undermines development efforts.
Your gift to Anti-Human Trafficking, UMCOR Advance #33615, helps UMCOR respond to survivors of this abuse.
CAMBODIA: DROUGHT DESTROYS RICE CROPS
An early dry season followed by only halting rains has wreaked havoc on the rice crop in Cambodia. In many villages, the impact is such that there is very little rice available, even for domestic consumption.
The Methodist Mission in Cambodia is seeking to minimize the impact of the drought by supplying, with UMCOR aid, rice grants or loans to 2,600 families and rice seeds to 700 farmers whose livelihood depends on their harvest.
Your gift to International Disaster Response, UMCOR Advance #982450, helps the people of Cambodia and others confronting natural or human-made emergencies.
SUDAN: GOING THE DISTANCE FOR WATER
“The need for clean drinking water is urgent in Southern Sudan,” says Victor Dut Chol, whose own mother died of cholera after drinking water from an unsafe source. Chol, one of the Lost Boys of Sudan, testifies that women and children routinely walk up to 24 miles in search of clean water.
In Africa, Asia, and Latin America, UMCOR is helping communities gain better access to clean water by locating safe sources, educating communities, and alleviating diseases of poverty caused by poor sanitation.
Learn more. Download the church bulletin, “Sudan: Going the Distance to Reach Water,” and use this Sudan PowerPoint slide to collect a special offering on Sundays.
Your gift to UMCOR Global Water and Sanitation, UMCOR Advance #3020600, supports life-giving water projects.
UMCOR: HOLIDAY PHOTO CONTEST
This holiday season, the UMCOR Coffee Project is hosting a photo contest! This is your chance to share the creative ways you include Equal Exchange Fair Trade products or packaging in your church and family gatherings, travels, or décor.
Just snap a photo and send it in by January 5, 2011, to win fairly traded Equal Exchange prizes. Click here for details about the contest.
Fair trade products purchased through the UMCOR Coffee Project and its partner Equal Exchange allows small-scale farmers to earn fair prices, invest in farm improvements, reduce debt, and improve their communities. Support fair trade with your gift to UMCOR Sustainable Agriculture & Development, UMCOR Advance #982188.
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.
