UMCOR begins response to mudslide in Philippines
Feb. 20, 2006
NOTE: A map is available at http://umns.umc.org.
By United Methodist News Service
The United Methodist Committee on Relief is asking for prayers and financial support as it responds to the mudslide that has buried an entire village in the Philippines.
A Feb. 17 mudslide, triggered by days of rain, buried the entire village - including an elementary school - of Guinsaugon, on southern Leyte Island. The island is about 420 miles southeast of Manila, the capital of the Philippines.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of the village of Guinsaugon on the Leyte Island in this time of tragedy and grief," said the Rev. R. Randy Day, top staff executive of the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries, parent agency of UMCOR.
"We think especially of the families of the children trapped in the school covered in the mudslide," he said in a press release. "The Philippines is part of our United Methodist global family of nations, and we are mobilizing to offer tangible signs of compassion and care."
So far, about 100 bodies have been found, and officials estimated that the toll could climb to about 1,000. The village and school were buried under a massive amount of mud. U.S. Marines, a Malaysian rescue team and others were still helping with rescue efforts Feb. 20.
The dead included the Rev. Niel Toyhacao, the pastor of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines' congregation in Guinsaugon, and his 6-month-old son. Of the church's nearly 70 members, only nine so far are known to have survived, according to a bulletin from the denomination. The United Church of Christ in the Philippines is a partner church of the United Methodist Church, with strong historical links to United Methodism through the former Evangelical United Brethren part of the denomination.
The village had about 1,800 people, and more than 240 children were in the school when the tragedy occurred. Heavy rain from Feb. 7 to Feb. 16 turned the 2,400-foot Mount Kanabag into a mudslide that covered the village, according to news reports.
UMCOR said it anticipated working with partners in the area, including the Manila, Davao and Baguio episcopal areas of the United Methodist Church in the Philippines, to provide immediate relief and support for long-term recovery.
Cash gifts will help the relief agency support immediate relief and long-term recovery of those affected by the mudslide. Checks can be mailed to UMCOR, P.O. Box 9068, New York, NY 10087. Write "UMCOR Advance #240235, Philippines Emergency" on the memo line. Online donations can be made by going to http://gbgm-umc.org/advance/donate/donate.cfm?id=1019604. Contributions also can be placed in church offering plates, and congregations around the denomination will be collecting support for UMCOR on March 26, during the annual One Great Hour of Sharing observance. One hundred percent of every donation to any Advance appeal, including appeals for the Philippines, goes to support recovery efforts in the disaster-stricken regions.
News media contact: Tim Tanton, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
********************
United Methodist News Service Photos and stories also available at: http://umns.umc.org
---------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe from this group, go to UMCom.org, log in to your account, click on the My Resources link and select the Leave option on the list(s) from which you wish to unsubscribe. If you have problems or questions, please write to websupport@umcom.org.
Powered by United Methodist Communications http://www.UMCom.org