wfn.org | CWS Head Visits Katrina-Ravaged Louisiana, Focus on Neediest

[Jan Dragin <jdragin@gis.net>]

KATRINA: CHURCH WORLD SERVICE HEAD IN LOUISIANA THIS WEEK,
WILL FOCUS ON NEEDIEST AND SUPPORT FOR FAITH COMMUNITY

Global Agency's Initial Aid Shipment Arrives in Baton Route

Responders Will Coordinate Immediate and Long Term Recovery for Most
Vulnerable Survivors

**EDITORS:
- INTERVIEWS BY ARRANGEMENT ON THE GROUND WITH JOHN McCULLOUGH
- PLEASE INCLUDE CHURCH WORLD SERVICE IN YOUR LISTINGS OF AGENCIES RAISING
FUNDS AND PROVIDING RELIEF SERVICES FOR VICTIMS OF KATRINA.

NEW YORK ­ Wed Aug 31­ Responding to what it anticipates may be the
largest
U.S. relief and recovery effort in its history, humanitarian agency Church
World Service (CWS) says its Executive Director and CEO Rev. John L.
McCullough will travel to Hurricane Katrina-devastated Louisiana, arriving
in Baton Rouge tonight (Wed Aug 31 ­ Sat. Sept 3), to personally assess
emergency and long-term recovery needs and to meet with area faith leaders.

"Church World Service is particularly concerned about the plight of what we
anticipate to be a high percentage of poor people, the elderly and other
vulnerable populations throughout the affected Gulf Coast area and beyond,"
he says. "Stories of individuals who had to stay in their homes because they
couldn¹t afford to evacuate personify that crisis.

On Monday (Aug 29) CWS issued a national fundraising appeal for survivors of
Katrina and has directed an initial shipment of emergency supplies it hopes
will reach Baton Rouge tomorrow (Wed. August 31) for distribution.

While in the region, McCullough intends to connect with area faith leaders
"to offer immediate support, solidarity and hope."

This week, CWS¹ disaster response specialists are meeting with Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) officials via telephone conferences,
along with partners in the faith community and state Voluntary Organizations
Active in Disaster (VOADs) to identify material resource needs and
storm-affected areas where CWS will concentrate its efforts.

In addition to providing emergency aid following domestic disasters, CWS
specializes in assisting in the development of community-based, long-term,
recovery organizations that are established in impacted areas to help
vulnerable populations and those with unmet needs.

CWS Associate Director for Domestic Emergency Response Linda Reed Brown
says, "We anticipate deploying at least 11 of our disaster recovery liaisons
just in Mississippi and Louisiana, where greatest need is seen. Louisiana,
Alabama and Mississippi will be the first to get our attention next week,
when it is safe to go there. At that point," she says,	"we¹ll be
performing
extensive assessments and can begin organizing local long term support
systems."

"With such catastrophic damage," says McCullough. "It will be awhile before
we know the full extent of lives lost and material destruction, but we can
be sure that recovery will take a very, very long time.

"There is no question that the area¹s faith leaders will shoulder a massive
amount of responsibility in caring for those populations and helping them
find resources," said McCullough, "at a time when the church leaders
themselves may have suffered great personal losses."

One of the first agencies called by FEMA along with the Red Cross in times
of national disaster, New York-headquartered CWS responds to natural and
human-caused disasters internationally and domestically.

Brown says, based on its work in disasters affecting a comparable geographic
area and knowledge of disaster experience in an affected area, CWS estimates
as many as 20 recovery organizations may be organized and supported in
Louisiana, Mississippi, northwest Alabama, Tennessee and Kentucky.

CWS may also deploy its specialists to Tennessee and Kentucky, Brown says,
where the agency will closely monitor Katrina's impact as a potentially
serious tropical storm.

The global agency will also respond on request in other states affected by
Katrina, including Florida where its domestic disaster recovery liaisons
helped more than 40 communities develop capacity in long-term recovery
during the 2004 hurricane season, CWS will respond on request.

Individuals and groups wanting to help Katrina¹s survivors are urged to
contribute cash rather than material goods.

Contributions to support the efforts of Church World Service may be sent to:

Church World Service
Hurricane Katrina Response -- #6280
P.O. Box 968
Elkhart, IN 46515

CWS also accepts credit card contributions, by calling: (800) 297-1516,
ext. 222, or through secure online contribution at
www.churchworldservice.org.

###

Media Contacts:
Ann Walle, Church World Service, (212) 870-2654,
awalle@churchworldservice.org
Jan Dragin ­ 24/7­ (781) 925 1526; jdragin@gis.net

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