wfn.org | Repatriation is new focus

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"UNITED METHODIST DAILY NEWS" by SUSAN PEEK on Aug. 11, 1991 at 13:58 Eastern,
about FULL TEXT RELEASES FROM UNITED METHODIST NEWS SERVICE (3335 notes).

Note 3324 by UMNS on Dec. 12, 1996 at 10:22 Eastern (2945 characters).

SEARCH:Rwanda, refugees, United Methodist Committee on Relief
Produced by United Methodist News Service, official news agency of
the United Methodist Church, with offices in Nashville, Tenn., New
York, and Washington.

CONTACT:  Linda Bloom                         612(10-21-71B){3324}
          New York (212)870-3803                      Dec. 5, 1996

UMCOR focusing efforts
on repatriation in Rwanda

     NEW YORK (UMNS) -- As the refugee population dwindles and
struggle for control over Eastern Zaire continues, the United
Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) is focusing its efforts on
Rwanda.
     "What we're trying to do is become operative in Rwanda so
that we can participate in the repatriation of refugees," the Rev.
Kenneth Lutgen, UMCOR's chief executive, told United Methodist
News Service during a Dec. 4 interview.
     As a member of Action by Churches Together (ACT), an
international relief coalition that includes World Council of
Churches partners and Lutheran World Relief, UMCOR is part of a
campaign to assist returning Rwandan refugees. The $7.9 million
appeal was announced in a full-page ad in USA Today on Nov. 26.
     Besides having access through ACT, UMCOR -- a part of the
United Methodist Board of Global Ministries -- is negotiating to
register independently as a relief agency in Rwanda, Lutgen said.
     The agency also is developing proposals for water and
sanitation projects and medical supply distribution with both
Africare, a nonprofit African-American run agency, and the United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
     There is no official United Methodist church in Rwanda,
according to Lutgen. Any local congregations relate to the United
Methodist Church in Burundi, which itself is currently in exile.
However, a substantial Methodist population was identified in the
refugee camps in eastern Zaire, he explained, and those refugees
are now back in Rwanda and asking for help.
     Noting the possibility of a massive influx of Rwandan
refugees from Tanzania, Lutgen said UMCOR is well-equipped to
assist with repatriation. "We do have expertise in most areas
where there are needs," he added.
     Selected UMCOR staff from other regions, such as Bosnia,
already have visited Kigali, Rwanda's capital, to help develop
project ideas.
     It is unlikely that volunteer work teams will be used in
Rwanda, according to Lutgen.
     At present, UMCOR basically has ceased activity in eastern
Zaire, he said, in order to maintain a neutral political stance
while rebels and the Zairian Army continue to battle for control.
     However, indigenous staff continues to work in some areas.
Lutgen said he has received reports that Zairian staff members
have kept the United Methodist clinic running in Bukavu and that
Dr. Wanume Kale, a United Methodist from Uganda, has returned to
his clinic in Uvira.
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