wfn.org | Refugee crises continue to occur in Africa

[NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG]

Oct. 27, 2000 News media contact: Linda Bloom·(212) 870-3803·New York
10-31-71B{492}

NEW YORK (UMNS) - Fueled by civil conflict or border disputes, crises
involving refugee populations continue to erupt around Africa.

Three coordinators for church-related refugee programs on the continent
discussed their work during an Oct. 26 briefing at the offices of Church
World Service, the relief agency of the U.S. National Council of Churches.

The Rev. Shirley DeWolf, a United Methodist pastor who serves as regional
coordinator of Southern African Churches in Ministry with Uprooted People,
noted that Angola remains in turmoil. When government forces recently
clashed with rebels in one part of the country, civilians began fleeing into
northwestern Zambia. "This wasn't expected," she said. "Refugee facilities
haven't been set up."

Tensions between Namibia and Botswana also could spark refugee movement, she
added, and people continue to enter Tanzania to escape conflict in Burundi.

Southern African Churches in Ministry with Uprooted People covers the
countries of Angola, Botswana, Comoros, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi,
Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia
and Zimbabwe. DeWolf is based in Mutare, Zimbabwe.

By combining forces, she said, the churches and ecumenical agencies in these
nations can promote cross-border collaboration, do joint advocacy and
lobbying for refugees, and network more effectively on an international
level. The organization has helped train "missioners of hope," a mission
program of the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries.

In Kenya, Joyce Riungu heads the refugee services desk for the country's
National Council of Churches. Some of the refugees, from places like
Ethiopia and Uganda, have been in Kenya for years and are considered to be
"full-status refugees" by the Kenyan government, while others are newly
arrived from Somalia and the Sudan.

Refugees are often anxious to return to their homelands, but continuing
political instability in places like Somalia makes knowing when to return
difficult, Riungu said.

The National Council of Churches in Kenya offers counseling, education,
support for small income-generating projects and resettlement opportunities
for refugees. It also runs reproductive health programs in the refugee
camps, covering such issues as HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted diseases,
family planning, gender-based violence and female genital mutilation.

In Guinea, home to 400,000 refugees, political turmoil "is having negative
repercussions on the refugee population," according to Christian Akumiah,
relief coordinator for the Christian Council of Ghana. The same problem is
occurring in the Ivory Coast, where a disputed election has led to the
overthrow of a military dictatorship but also to violence with ethnic and
religious overtones.

Ghana's council, representing 16 denominations and the YWCA and YMCA,
provides a variety of services to the estimated 20,000 refugees in the
country, most of whom come from Sierra Leone and Liberia.

The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) collects funds for the work
in Kenya and Ghana. Donations for Health Services to Refugees, National
Council of Churches in Kenya, can be made to UMCOR Advance No. 140534-0.
Donations for Income Generation and Vocational Training for Refugees,
Christian Council of Ghana, can be made to UMCOR Advance No. 120545-7.

Checks can be placed in church collection plates or mailed directly to UMCOR
at 475 Riverside Dr., Room 330, New York, NY 10115. Credit-card donations
can be made by calling (800) 554-8583.

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United Methodist News Service
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