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United Methodists planning for Mitch volunteers

Nov. 25, 1998	Contact: Linda Bloom·(212) 870-3803·New York    {696}

By United Methodist News Service

Working with church partners in Honduras and Nicaragua, the United
Methodist Board of Global Ministries is making plans for volunteer
assistance to Hurricane Mitch survivors.

Two board executives - F. Lloyd Rollins, assistant general secretary for
emergency response, United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) and
Robert Walton, assistant general secretary for mission volunteers - will
travel to Central America the week after Thanksgiving.

The pair will meet with representatives of the Commission for Christian
Development (CCD) in Honduras and the Council of Evangelical Churches
(CEPAD) in Nicaragua.

Walton said a coordination of efforts is needed so volunteers can be
used effectively to help rebuild both countries. "We don't want
volunteers to be a burden," he added.

Names of volunteers are being collected through the board's volunteer
phone line at (800) 918-3000. Once a plan is in place, the scheduling of
teams and individual placements will begin. Volunteers also will be
place in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, countries badly damaged
by Hurricane Georges. 

As of Nov. 20, UMCOR had distributed $30,000 in initial grants to
ecumenical partners in Nicaragua and Honduras. It also had participated
in a shipload of relief items from Houston and sponsored a Nov. 9
airlift of 38,000 pounds of relief goods to Nicaragua and a separate
container shipment there to be distributed through the Brother's Brother
Foundation.

UMCOR also is coordinating efforts with Church World Service (CWS), the
relief agency of the National Council of Churches. CWS has airlifted and
shipped relief supplies to Honduras, Nicaragua and Guatemala. It is
sending two U.S. volunteer medical teams to Honduras. The first team
left Nov. 24 and the second will leave Nov. 30. CWS also will assist in
travel costs for a 10-doctor team from Cuba, sent by the Cuban Council
of Churches.

Stop Hunger Now, led by the Rev. Ray Buchanan, a United Methodist
pastor, has been involved in Hurricane Mitch relief assistance with
UMCOR and with other groups.

With partners relationships established last January in Nicaragua and
Honduras, Buchanan said Stop Hunger Now was able to provide $5,000 in
each country within 48 hours after the hurricane struck "to buy food
available locally."

Stop Hunger Now also:

* Worked in conjunction with UMCOR and Amigos Internationales to send $1
million worth of medicines to Honduras. The United Methodist Virginia
Annual Conference donated $10,000 toward the cost of procuring the
medicines.
* Helped acquire use of the ship, "Spirit of Grace," which recently
sailed from the Houston harbor to Honduras and contributed water, corn
and other food, general supplies and medical equipment to its load of
relief items.
* Worked in cooperation with Hearts With Hands to airlift corn and water
to Honduras from Pope Air Force Base in North Carolina.
* Secured, with Amigos, three NASA-approved million-gallon-a-day water
pumps, valued at a half million dollars apiece. Stop Hunger Now will
ship one to Nicaragua, assisted by UMCOR, and Amigos will install the
other two in Honduras.

UMCOR is collecting material resources for Hurricane Mitch survivors at
its depot in Baldwin, La. For a needs list and shipping instructions,
call (800) 918-3100.

Financial gifts can be made through UMCOR's Advance No. 982515-0,
Hurricanes '98. If desired, the check can be earmarked for a specific
country or to Stop Hunger Now. Checks should be placed in church
collection plates or mailed to UMCOR at 475 Riverside Dr., Room 330, New
York, NY 10115.
# # #

United Methodist News Service
(615)742-5470
Releases and photos also available at
http://www.umc.org/umns/