wfn.org | Food shipment heads to Honduras

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

Nov. 10, 1998	Contact: Linda Bloom·(212) 870-3803·New York     {657}

By United Methodist News Service

A ship full of food for Hurricane Mitch survivors is set to leave
Houston Nov. 11, bound for Honduras.

Organizers of the shipment are the United Methodist Committee on Relief
(UMCOR), Jesse Stokely, a member of First United Methodist Church in
Houston, and the Christian Alliance for Humanitarian Aid Inc., a
Houston-based group.

In other action related to Hurricane Mitch recovery efforts, UMCOR is:

* Urging United Methodists to make cash donations toward its emergency
response.
* Accepting donations of small food packages, cleaning supplies, school
kits and health kits at its depot in Baldwin, La.
* Taking names of volunteers for future work teams.

All of UMCOR's relief work is being coordinated with its church partner
agencies, the Christian Commission on Development (CCD) in Honduras and
the Council of Evangelical Churches (CEPAD) in Nicaragua, as well as
with United Methodist missionaries in the area. Two of UMCOR's disaster
response experts separately made assessment visits to Honduras and
Nicaragua during the week of Nov. 2.

The extensive devastation caused by the late October hurricane has
slowed the response, according to the Rev. Tom Hazelwood, UMCOR's
disaster response network manager. He expects the work to remain in an
emergency phase "for a month or more."

The rain generated by the hurricane did the most damage by creating
floods and mudslides, washing away entire villages and fields of crops,
and destroying most of the infrastructure - roads, bridges, buildings -
in Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala.

Statistics in the Nov. 9 edition of the New York Times listed 6,420 dead
and 4,621 missing in Honduras; 4,000 dead and 1,300 missing in
Nicaragua; 194 dead and 246 missing in Guatemala; and 239 and 131
missing in El Salvador.

U.S. government officials, who already have committed $70 million for
relief, have estimated that recovery will take several years and
possibly cost billions of dollars.

UMCOR has received many calls from volunteers eager to help immediately,
but Hazelwood said that simply is not possible because of the damage to
the infrastructure. Lack of transportation, for example, is a crucial
problem. Many areas still can only be reached by helicopter.

The partner agencies, he explained, "are not prepared at this moment to
receive any teams." But he promised that a more structured volunteer
response would be organized in the near future.

UMCOR also is trying to organize medical teams to go into the region and
is seeking volunteers for those groups. Fluency in Spanish is a
requirement, Hazelwood added.

All volunteers for future work teams should call UMCOR's Volunteer Line
at (800) 918-3100.

Information about shipments to the UMCOR Depot is available by calling
(800) 814-8765.

Donations can be sent by check to UMCOR, earmarked for "Hurricanes 98,"
Advance No. 982515-0, and designated to a specific country if desired.
Checks can be dropped in church collection plates or mailed to UMCOR,
475 Riverside Drive, Room 330, New York, NY 10115.

Church World Service, the relief agency of the National Council of
Churches, also is working with the CCD in Honduras. A shipment to CCD
valued at $45,000 will include tents, rice, beans, powdered milk, and
health and layette kits. Another $40,000 was sent from its blanket fund
monies. Church World Service also has sent $20,000 to a partner agency
in Nicaragua.

Pastors for Peace, a project of the Interreligious Foundation for
Community Organization, has a previously planned caravan of aid leaving
San Antonio, Texas, on Nov. 15 and arriving in Nicaragua at the end of
the month. More information is available at the group's World Wide Web
site, www.ifconews.org.
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United Methodist News Service
(615)742-5470
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