wfn.org | NCC GENERAL SECRETARY JOINS HABITAT FOR HUMANITY KOREA BUILD

["Carol Fouke" <carolf@ncccusa.org>]

National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA
Contact: NCC News, 212-870-2252
NCC8/2/2001 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NCC GENERAL SECRETARY JOINS HABITAT FOR HUMANITY KOREA BUILD

	August 2, 2001, NEW YORK CITY - Hammer in hand -- and promising his family
hell try not to hurt himself -- National Council of Churches General
Secretary Bob Edgar sets off today (Aug. 2) for Korea, where hell spend
Aug. 5-11 with Habitat for Humanity helping build 120 houses.

	The Rev. Dr. Edgar will work alongside former U.S. President Jimmy Carter,
former First Lady Rosalynn Carter and South Koreas President Kim Dae Jung
in Asan, one of six building sites in South Korea.  As many as 9,000
volunteers from around the world will help 120 Korean families build simple,
decent houses, 72 of them in Asan.

	The Jimmy Carter Work Project 2001 in Korea is the lead event in this
summers first Habitat for Humanity World Leaders Build, in which 28 heads
of state from 26 nations are joining builds and supporting construction in
43 countries.  The worldwide effort will draw attention to the worldwide
problems of poverty housing and result in 1,175 houses for people in need of
shelter.

	Im not known for my ability with a hammer, and Im not likely to be
allowed near any electric saws, said Dr. Edgar, a United Methodist
minister, former seminary president and six-term U.S. Representative who has
served as NCC general secretary since January 2000.  Nevertheless, Habitat
for Humanity assures me there will be plenty of ways I can help.

	Most significantly, he said, My participation in the Korea build helps
cement the new relationship between the National Council of Churches and
Habitat for Humanity.  The NCC and Habitat for Humanity in March signed a
"Memorandum of Understanding" that lays the groundwork for a growing list of
joint endeavors aimed at eliminating poverty housing.

Toward Habitat for Humanitys goal of building 100,000 homes in the next
five years, members of the NCCs General Assembly will help build homes in
Oakland, Calif., in November.  The NCCs Justice for Women Working Group and
Church World Service are exploring other collaborations.
	Dr. Edgar and the NCCs President for 2000-2001, Ambassador Andrew Young,
are scheduled to join Habitat for Humanitys summer 2002 Build in South
Africa.  We hope to take an airplane full of NCC volunteers with us, Dr.
Edgar said.  Dr. Edgar will participate in Habitat for Humanitys 25th
anniversary celebrations in September in Indianapolis, and is considering
taking the NCC Executive Boards spring 2002 meeting to Americus, Ga., where
Habitat for Humanity has its headquarters.
The partnership is one in an emerging network of collaborative work to end
poverty in the United States. Through its Poverty Mobilization, launched in
November 2000, the NCC is focused on making a measurable difference against
poverty over the coming decade in such areas as housing, child poverty,
health care, public education, environment and public policy, including
welfare and budget priorities.
While in Korea, Dr. Edgar also will meet with officials of the National
Council of Churches in Korea (NCCK) and participate, at 11 a.m. Sunday, Aug.
12, in the South and North Korea 2001 Common Prayer Sunday Worship for
Peaceful Reunification (Ah-Hyun Methodist Church in Seoul).