wfn.org | [UMNS-ALL-NEWS] UMNS# 591-Concern rises over lack of tents for Asia

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Concern rises over lack of tents for Asia quake survivors

Oct. 20, 2005

NOTE: Photographs are available at http://umns.umc.org.

A UMNS Report
By Linda Bloom*

Relief workers trying to assist survivors of the South Asia earthquake
are racing against time and the approach of a harsh winter.

New estimates by regional officials of the death toll from the Oct. 8
earthquake had jumped to at least 79,000 by Oct. 19, according to the
Associated Press. But the real concern is for the survivors, according
to Marvin Parvez, director of Church World Service Pakistan/Afghanistan.

"With the 2 to 3 million affected and homeless, the government and U.N.
estimates that the affected families need over 600,000 shelter kits or
tents," he told United Methodist News Service.

"Currently, we have a little over 100,000 available in the supply chain,
so you can see we have a huge gap between demand and supply here."

In an Oct. 18 New York Times article, Andrew Macleod, the United
Nations' operations chief in Pakistan, said the problem was not the
response from aid organizations but the size of the task. He added that
"we need more winterized tents than exist in the world today."

Parvez pointed out that in many of the regions affected by the
earthquake, there was a window of only 15 to 20 days from Oct. 19 before
winter sets in, "and this will increase the vulnerability of the
children and the elderly."

The United Methodist Committee on Relief is working with CWS
Pakistan/Afghanistan and the International Blue Crescent to respond to
the earthquake.

UMCOR's parent agency, the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries,
also is part of the Church of Pakistan's Mission Partners Forum. The
Church of Pakistan - the largest Protestant Church in Pakistan - is a
union of the Methodist, Anglican, Lutheran and Presbyterian (Scottish)
churches.

The earthquake was centered about 60 miles north of Islamabad, the
capital of Pakistan, and its impact was felt as far east as New Delhi,
India, and as far west as Kabul, Afghanistan. Devastation occurred in
northern Pakistan and in both the Pakistani-controlled and
Indian-controlled sections of Kashmir.

CWS relief efforts are being organized through its Pakistan offices in
Karachi, Islamabad, Mansehra and Murree. The agency also is part of the
Pak-Humanitarian Forum, a collaboration of international humanitarian
and emergency response agencies in Pakistan. Members of the forum are
going out in teams to assess needs.

On Oct. 13, CWS air-dropped shelter kits from army helicopters to some
of the most affected but hard-to-reach areas in Battagram, including 365
kits in Allai. But such deliveries were stalled Oct. 14-15 because of
security concerns and poor weather.

CWS also has provided emergency food to families and will provide
medical assistance to 100,000 people impacted by the quake - half in
Azad Kashmir and half in the Northwest Frontier Province - through two
health centers. According to Parvez, the health centers will provide
immunization and first aid. The aid will focus on women, children and
vulnerable families without food and shelter.

Church World Service's office and health clinic in Mansehra were damaged
by the quake but the clinic is now cleared, open and serving survivors
needing medical care.

While truckloads of supplies continue to arrive in the town of 35,000 -
where nearly all the houses were destroyed - the effort "is just a drop
in ocean," Parvez said.

He is concerned about reaching the more remote locations. The United
Nations has estimated that only 30 to 40 percent of some 350 to 900
villages damaged by the earthquake have been inspected.

"All of us have to move very fast to make sure that we don't have more
casualties," he explained. "Besides this, if we can't get aid out to the
mountain villages, we will also see large numbers of people moving to
displaced camps and public buildings down in the plains."

Complicating efforts are the more than 500 aftershocks that have
occurred since the earthquake, along with rain, hail and even snow in
some areas, he noted.

Parvez, who is of Methodist background, conveyed his "sincere thanks to
fellow Methodists for all the support and cooperation."

Kristin Sachen, UMCOR's international disaster coordinator, reported
that funds in the agency's international disaster account are low and
inadequate to respond to the crucial needs in Pakistan. "We're really
hoping that people will remember it in their Thanksgiving and Christmas
offerings," she added.

UMCOR cannot participate directly in rescue and recovery efforts in
Pakistan but will continue to respond financially through Church World
Service and other partner agencies, she said.

Another such partner is the Church's Auxiliary for Social Action in
India. CASA will target 10,000 of the most affected families in Kashmir
and assist with winter clothing, utensils, blankets and tents,
tarpaulins and tin sheets for temporary shelters.

"The heaviest burdens imposed by the earthquake have been on the
womenfolk who have to look after the welfare of the entire family in an
abnormal and adverse situation," CASA reported.

Donations to the United Methodist relief effort can be marked for "UMCOR
Advance #232000, Pakistan Earthquake," and placed in church offering
plates or sent to UMCOR, P.O. Box 9068, New York, N.Y. 10087-9068.
Contributions also can be made by phone at (800) 554-8583. If funds are
intended for recovery in a specific region, that should be noted. More
information is available at
http://gbgm-umc.org/umcor/emergency/earthquake/index.stm.

*Bloom is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in New York.

News media contact: Linda Bloom, New York, (646) 369-3759 or
newsdesk@umcom.org.

********************

United Methodist News Service
Photos and stories also available at:
http://umns.umc.org

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