wfn.org | UMCOR, Mercy Corps continue work in Afghanistan

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>]

Feb. 25, 2002  News media contact: Linda Bloom7(212) 870-38037New York
10-21-33-71BP{071}

NOTE: Photographs will be available with this report.

By United Methodist News Service

United Methodists, already participating in the distribution of winterized
tents and other supplies to families in northern Afghanistan, are
considering additional ways to provide assistance.

A two-person assessment team representing the United Methodist Committee on
Relief is to arrive in Kabul in early March, according to Gretchen Ansorge,
senior program officer for Eurasia in UMCOR's Nongovernmental Organization
(NGO) office in Washington. The team is expected to spend several weeks in
Afghanistan determining how best to use its resources and whether to open an
office there or set up programs through existing organizations.

Either way, Ansorge said, UMCOR will work in cooperation with other relief
agencies, particularly members of Action by Churches Together (ACT).

That cooperation already is evident in the shelter project coordinated by
the UMCOR office in Tajikistan and Mercy Corps, an ACT partner. Ansorge and
David Sadoo, an international field staff member for UMCOR in New York, were
part of a team accompanying the first three truckloads of shelter kits
across the Tajikistan border and into Hazar Bogh in the Taloqan region of
northern Afghanistan. The team remained in Afghanistan from Jan. 29 to Feb.
1.

"It's a whole different world there," Sadoo said, noting the lack of
development and infrastructure. "It's almost a whole different century."

Hazar Bogh became a front line for the fighting between the Taliban and the
Northern Alliance, with both sides contributing to the looting and
destruction of many homes there. A four-year drought has compounded the
suffering of inhabitants.

Sadoo noted that the mud houses or compounds that remain are sometimes
missing doors, windows or even rooftops. "People are living in them or with
their neighbors, but I wouldn't consider them habitable," he said of the
houses.

The shelter kits being delivered to the region typically include a winter
tent big enough to hold a family of six or seven; six blankets; three
sleeping pads; three mattresses; three pillows and a stove. UMCOR/Mercy
Corps also is distributing household kits containing basic cooking supplies,
plates, cups, utensils, washbasins and water storage containers.

Both Sadoo and Ansorge were impressed by the determination of the Afghan
people to recover from their losses. "I was surprised by how quickly people
were making an effort to improve their situation," Ansorge said. "There
wasn't a sense of desperation."

Sadoo added that the towns they visited were bustling with activity. Despite
the drought, some food was available in the markets. "They've been through
all this fighting, but they're not defeated," he explained.

The team also was treated to legendary Afghan hospitality. "They didn't have
much, but they still insisted, at the end of the day, that we sit down to a
meal with them," he said.

As the only woman in the UMCOR/Mercy Corps group, Ansorge said she received
stares from adults and expressions of surprise from children, but felt no
ill will. She also had the advantage of being able to enter a home and meet
the women and children living there.

The shelter project, which received $700,000 in funding through UMCOR's
"Love in the Midst of Tragedy" offering, will continue through April 28.
UMCOR's Web site, http://gbgm-umc.org/umcor, and a joint Web site,
http://umcor-afghan.netfirms.com/, list more information about the project.

UMCOR has been working in the Central Asian republic of Tajikistan since
1999, offering educational and rehabilitation programs for youth as well as
community development projects. 
Mercy Corps has conducted relief and development work in Tajikistan since
1994 and in Afghanistan since 1984.

Donations to support UMCOR's emergency relief and long-term development work
in Afghanistan can be made to UMCOR Advance No. 901125-3, designated for
Afghanistan. Checks can be dropped in church collection plates or mailed
directly to UMCOR at 475 Riverside Dr., Room 330, New York, NY 10115. Call
(800) 554-8583 to make a credit-card donation.
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United Methodist News Service
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http://umns.umc.org