wfn.org | Latest in NCCCUSA Kosovo Response, Refugee

[CAROL_FOUKE.parti@ecunet.org (CAROL FOUKE)]

Resettlement Plans

National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.

Internet: news@ncccusa.org

Contact: NCC News, 212-870-2227

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EDITORS: When listing organizations providing humanitarian 
relief in the Kosovo crisis, please include Church World 
Service, Attn. Kosovo Crisis, 28606 Phillips Street, P.O. 
Box 968, Elkhart, IN 46515. Phone: (800) 297-1516, ext. 222.

Thirty-five Protestant and Orthodox communions work together 
through Church World Service - a ministry of the National 
Council of Churches - to meet human need in more than 80 
countries including the United States.
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49NCC4/29/99    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

LATEST IN NCC'S KOSOVO RESPONSE INCLUDES SHIPMENTS OF BABY 
FORMULA TO REFUGEE CAMP,  PLANS FOR U.S. REFUGEE 
RESETTLEMENT

NEW YORK, April 29 ---- As a delegation of religious 
leaders heads off to Belgrade co-led by the Rev. Dr. Joan 
Brown Campbell, National Council of Churches (NCC) General 
Secretary, and the Rev. Jesse Jackson, the NCC's 
humanitarian response arm continues to respond to the needs 
of refugees and other victims affected by the violence in 
the region.

As part of a $1.8 million response to date, Church 
World Service has sent more than 22,000 "Gifts of the Heart" 
recovery kits to be distributed by the CWS Bosnia office.  
This shipment, valued at $318,555, includes 10,000 health 
kits, 6,230 school kits, 5,000 sewing kits, 1,065 baby kits, 
and medicine and medicinal supplies.

Through Diaconia Agape, a local church agency in 
Albania, CWS is providing more than 27,500 pounds of locally 
purchased baby formula, baby food and cereal to refugee 
camps in Albania.

CWS is also helping to set up two large camps to meet 
the needs of a portion of the nearly 33,000 refugees now in 
Bosnia.  "The needs are staggering," reports Vitali Vorona, 
CWS Bosnia Director.  Some 600,000 Kosovar Albanians have 
fled their homes - pouring into neighboring Albania, 
Macedonia, Montenegro, and Bosnia, creating the worst 
humanitarian crisis in Europe since World War II.

Meanwhile, the NCC's Church World Service Immigration 
and Refugee Program (CWS/IRP) is shifting into high gear 
following the recent announcement by the Clinton 
Administration that the United States will accept 20,000 
Kosovar refugees "until they can return home."  Family 
members of people already living in the United States, along 
with some humanitarian cases, will be given priority and 
will be resettled through United States resettlement 
agencies, of which CWS/IRP is one.

"We certainly welcome the announcement that refugees 
will come directly from Macedonia to the U.S. and not have 
to go to another processing center such as Guantanamo," said 
Mr. William Sage, CWS/IRP Director.  "We also welcome the 
inclusion of special humanitarian cases.  We know how 
difficult it will be to identify and refer those cases, but 
it is often churches who do such a good job with special 
humanitarian cases because they are prepared to make a 
longer-term commitment and have resources to mobilize."   

IRP affiliates throughout the country have been 
providing information about how relatives in this country 
can locate and file for their refugee relative in Macedonia.  
"The major challenge in this emergency is getting out 
accurate information," Mr. Sage said.  "We are helping 
families to understand the proper procedures."

Following a conference call with CWS/IRP's 44 
affiliates, Mr. Sage said "our sense is that most of the 
families filing for family reunification come from the areas 
of New York, Chicago and Seattle."

CWS was one of the first relief agencies on the scene 
in the region, providing blankets, tents and bed linens to 
refugees in Kosovo, Albania, Macedonia, Montenegro and 
Bosnia.

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