wfn.org | GOAA - IOCC MOBILIZES HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE FOR IRAQ CRISIS

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				    SCOBA
  The Standing Conference of the Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas
		   8 East 79th Street, New York, NY 10021

For Immediate Release

March 18, 2003

IOCC MOBILIZES HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE FOR IRAQ CRISIS

Baltimore (IOCC) - With diplomatic efforts to peacefully disarm Iraq coming
to  an	end,  staff  members  of International Orthodox Christian Charities
(IOCC)	are  being  dispatched to the Middle East to coordinate an Orthodox
Christian response to assist the victims of a war in Iraq.

IOCC,  the  official  humanitarian  aid  agency  of Orthodox Christians, is
planning  a  three-pronged  response to the current crisis: distribution of
"survival  packs"  to  migrant	workers  fleeing Iraq; provision of medical
assistance  to	ill  or  disabled  refugees  in Jordan; and distribution of
humanitarian relief supplies within Iraq with IOCC's local church partners.

"The situation is fluid and will certainly evolve - as will IOCC's response
to  the  needs	that  emerge,"	said  IOCC  Chief  Operating  Officer David
Holdridge.

IOCC's	goal  is  to  raise  $1  million for relief supplies as well as for
life-saving  medicines	and medical supplies needed now in Iraq and Jordan.
The  aid will assist vulnerable children and their families. Half of Iraq's
24.5 million citizens are children, according to UNICEF.

An  IOCC  emergency  response  team  is  departing  for  Amman,  Jordan, to
establish  relief  operations and to provide technical assistance to church
partners   to	deliver   and	manage	an  effective  humanitarian  relief
distribution within Iraq.

"IOCC's  priority is to support the Orthodox churches in the region at this
time  of crisis, and to support them in a way that will allow them to serve
their  own  community  as  well  as deliver assistance to all those in need
within their reach," Holdridge said. "A visible commitment to the provision
of  this  assistance by the Orthodox Church will be important as Iraq seeks
to rebuild a more equitable society."

The  response to the Iraq crisis is part of IOCC's continuing commitment to
help  refugees	and  other victims of war. For 10 years, in places like the
former Yugoslavia, the Republic of Georgia and the West Bank, IOCC has been
offering  food,  clothing  and shelter to people displaced by war and civil
unrest.  Once  the  violence  stops,  IOCC  has  been  there with self-help
programs that bring new hope and opportunity.

In  addition  to  helping  vulnerable families in Iraq, the IOCC operations
will  provide  medical assistance to ill or disabled refugees and displaced
persons  expected  to  flee Iraq through Jordan. The survival packs contain
items such as food staples and a first-aid kit.

IOCC has worked in the Middle East since 1997 and currently has programs in
the  Holy Land and Lebanon. Since 1992, IOCC has distributed more than $160
million in relief and development assistance in 21 countries.

To  help  in  providing  relief,  call IOCC's donation hotline toll-free at
1-877-803-4622,  make  a  gift	on-line at www.iocc.org, or mail a check or
money  order to IOCC, "Middle East Crisis," P.O. Box 630225, Baltimore, Md.
21263-0225.

For media inquiries, please contact IOCC Communications
Associate Stephen Huba at 1-877-803-4622 or shuba@iocc.org.

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