wfn.org | CWS $900,000 in Kosovo Crisis Aid

[CAROL_FOUKE.parti@ecunet.org (CAROL FOUKE)]

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Contact: Chris Herlinger or Donna Derr, 212-870-3151
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When listing humanitarian groups receiving contributions for relief 
and emergency efforts in Kosovo, please include:

Church World Service, (Attn. Kosovo Crisis, 28606 Phillips 
Street, P.O. Box 968, Elkhart, IN 46515.  Phone: (800) 297-1516, 
ext. 222.

Thirty-five Protestant and Orthodox denominations and communions 
work together through Church World Service - a ministry of the 
National Council of Churches - to meet human need in more than 80 
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39NCC3/30/99 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CWS FORWARDS $900,000 FOR TENTS, BEDDING FOR KOSOVO REFUGEES
Church World Service's Goal -- $1.2 Million in Kosovo Crisis 
Response

 NEW YORK, March 30 ---- Church World Service is contributing 
$800,000 in tents, blankets and mattresses to a partner agency in 
Albania as part of an international ecumenical program of short-term 
"crisis" assistance to refugees, displaced and others affected by 
the recent escalation of military strikes and violence in Kosovo.

The 1,000 tents, 25,000 blankets and 10,000 mattresses are 
going to Diaconie Agape, the social and development office of the 
Orthodox Autocephalous Church of Albania, and has been working 
within Albania to assist Kosovo refugees with material assistance.

This $800,000 is in addition to the $100,000 for blankets and 
bedding already channeled through International Orthodox Christian 
Charities (IOCC), the official overseas humanitarian assistance 
agency of Orthodox Christians in the United States and Canada. IOCC 
has delivered basic supplies to refugees since 1993.  Last week, 
growing security concerns forced IOCC to withdraw most of its staff 
to outlying areas surrounding the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, 
but the staff is still working in assisting refugees in affected 
areas.

The situation in Kosovo continues to worsen, with some 100,000 
refugees from Kosovo having fled the Serb province during the past 
week, and relief officials warning the exodus has created the worst 
humanitarian crisis in Europe since World War II.

With NATO air strikes against Yugoslav forces continuing -- 
and criticized by a number of church organizations, including the 
World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Church World Service and 
Witness (CWSW) Unit Committee -- the United Nations High 
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has accused the Yugoslav forces of 
ethnic cleansing in Kosovo, forcing refugees to flee the province to 
neighboring Albania, Macedonia and Montenegro. UNHCR reports 90,000 
have left Kosovo this week, while NATO estimates 118,000 have fled, 
the Reuters news agency reported.

The goal of the CWS response and the wider ACT appeal is to 
provide short-term humanitarian assistance and relief -- including 
food, hygienic materials, sanitation, drinking water, shelter, 
clothing and medicines -- for vulnerable refugees, displaced persons 
and others affected by the military conflict and violence in Kosovo, 
Montenegro, Serbia and other areas of the former Yugoslavia.

 Church World Service is seeking a total of $1.2 million in 
denominational and public support for Kosovo crisis through partners 
within the Action by Churches (ACT) International network.  Other 
ACT-member agencies working in the region include the Macedonian 
Center for International Cooperation (ACT/MCIC), Norwegian Church 
Aid and Hungarian Interchurch Aid.  

The IOCC's current program in the former Yugoslavia involves 
delivery of basic supplies to refugees living in collective centers 
and in private accommodations, including the largest care and 
maintenance program for refugees in Kosovo. 

More than 65,000 refugees in Kosovo who have been aided by 
IOCC have been cut off from vital humanitarian assistance due to the 
NATO military strikes. "We are deeply concerned for the people of 
Kosovo and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia," said Constantine M. 
Triantafilou, Executive Director of IOCC. "We continue to do all 
that we can to address the needs of innocent civilians who have been 
impacted by the conflict."

"The numbers of people in need of our assistance will grow in 
the days and weeks to come," said Triantafilou. Initial reports from 
staff in the region indicate that the number of civilians fleeing 
the region are rapidly increasing.  The multi-ethnic staff of IOCC 
operates from distribution centers in Podgorica, Montenegro and 
Decani, Kosovo.

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