wfn.org | CORRECTION: CWS SHIPS SUPPLIES TO STAN VICTIMS IN CENTRAL

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>]

CHURCH WORLD SERVICE EXPEDITES BLANKETS, KITS TO CENTRAL AMERICA

NEW YORK - OCT 12 - Church World Service is responding to the emergencies
experienced in recent weeks in the Central American nations of El Salvador,
Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua with shipments of blankets, relief kits,
and medical supplies.

An estimated one thousand or more people have died as a result of flooding
and mudslides from Hurricane Stan, which has also affected parts of
southern Mexico; in addition an October 7 earthquake resulted in damage in
El Salvador and Guatemala. El Salvador is also facing the after-effects of
a major volcanic eruption on October 1. Finally, the northeast coastal
areas of Nicaragua have been affected by a food crisis brought on by a
plague of rats. Rain from Hurricane Stan has lashed the region since October 1.

Church World Service and its partners in Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua,
and Honduras are all on the scene, responding to the emergencies in
multiple ways. The most urgent needs are potable water, food, and blankets.

Working through its long-time partner, the Conference of Evangelical
Churches in Guatemala (CIEDEG), CWS is providing $392,790 in material
assistance, including CWS Blankets; "Gift of the Heart" Baby, School, and
Health Kits; and medical and sewing supplies. Partners in Guatemala report
that the government has declared a red alert in some of the municipalities
of Escuintla, Retalhuleu, and San Marcos. It is estimated that 23,300
people have been affected and that 25,320 more are at risk.

In El Salvador, partners will assist around 1,000 families where the
flooding is the most severe. They had also monitored the situation for two
weeks prior to the October 1 eruption of the Santa Ana or Llimatepec
Volcano, the country's largest volcano, dormant for more than a century.
The eruption killed at least two people and forced more than 2,000 to flee.
The Lutheran Church in El Salvador is sheltering 25 families and providing
food assistance to other shelters. They are planning to open another
shelter in Santa Ana for other families displaced by this disaster.

Acción Médica Cristiana, in El Salvador, facilitated a session oriented to
identify a strategic response to the emergencies in coordination with local
and national government ministries and agencies: the Ministry of Health
offices, the local Ministry of Education, Ministry of Agriculture, Cattle
Ranchers and Forestry office, the local Institute of Farming technology,
the technical unit of the Mayor's Office, and the mission from the United
Nations.

A food crisis has developed along the Coco River in Nicaragua's northern
frontier with Honduras, affecting the largely indigenous Miskito
communities that live along the banks of the river and survive by
subsistence farming and fishing.

For months, these communities have been attacked by rats that have eaten
and destroyed basic crops used to feed the communities. A plague of worms
has also affected the basic crops and has severely curtailed the food
security of nearly 50,000 persons.

For further information on the Church World Service response, or to donate,
please visit us online at www.churchworldservice.org or call the CWS
Hotline, (800) 297-1516.

Lesley Crosson, (212) 870-2676, lcrosson@churchworldservice.org
Ann Walle, (212) 870-2654, awalle@churchworldservice.org