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In Today's Hotline:
- US: HELPING IMMIGRANTS IN IOWA
- KENYA: PROMOTING PEACE
- COLOMBIA: HELPING REFUGEE FAMILIES
- RESOURCES: ZIMBABWE CHURCH BULLETIN AND POWER POINT SLIDE
- UMCOR: A GIFT OF HOPE
US: HELPING IMMIGRANTS IN IOWA
In May, an immigration raid on the Agriprocessors meat-packing plant startled the Postville, Iowa community which centers it livelihood on the plant. More than 300 people were arrested because they were undocumented immigrants or had come to work at the plant from labor supply companies. UMCOR is assisting the Iowa Annual Conference in providing crisis management for those affected as they struggle to pay their bills, find other work and put food on the table.
Among those arrested were 30 Latin American women immigrants, who were placed under house arrest so they can care for their children. However, the women are unable to leave their home to find available work to support their families. Others face deportation pending upcoming court trials. Although some work permits have been granted, jobs and resources are scarce.
UMCOR will support the Postville Central Coordinating Committee in coordinating crisis services and case management work to help these families in need. Support this effort by giving to Domestic Disaster Response, UMCOR Advance #901670.
More than 4,000 women in the Nakuru camp for displaced persons in Kenya are confronting the violence that eroded during last year's elections through a movement of peace. In a partnership with Nakuru United Methodist Church, a women's group has formed to promote harmony throughout Nakuru camp. The group held a "We Can End Violence Cup Tournament," where four women's soccer teams competed against each other. The goal of the event was to engage women, youth and men into peace-building discussions.
"We chose to rise up against all odds, and vowed to promote peace in our country, because violence was threatening to completely destroy the humble life we were leading." says Jane Anyango, the chairperson of the group.
UMCOR is enabling the Nakuru camp to provide 24-hour medical care to over 26,000 displaced people and provide school uniforms and books to over 2, 500 orphans now enrolled in school. Support the work in Kenya by giving to International Disaster Response, UMCOR Advance #982450.
COLOMBIA: HELPING REFUGEE FAMILIES
The never-ending war in Colombia has pushed more than three million Colombians from their homes into neighboring countries—making it the country with the second-highest number of displaced people. UMCOR is supporting its partner Church World Service (CWS) in helping Colombian refugees integrate into Chilean society through business skills development.
CWS in partnership with Chilean organization FASIC (Fundacion de Ayuda Social de las Iglesias Cristianas or Christian Social Aid Foundation) and IMECH, a Chilean Methodist Church, is helping Colombian refugees resettle in Chile and helping them become economically self sufficient. UMCOR will help CWS in its efforts to increase the livelihoods of about 20 refugee families through micro-enterprise support to help refugees start small businesses. Through CWS partners, Colombian refugees will learn entrepreneurial skills including business management, accounting, tax preparation and more.
Support this work by giving to Global Refugee Response, UMCOR Advance # 982540.
RESOURCES: ZIMBABWE CHURCH BULLETIN AND POWER POINT SLIDE
In Zimbabwe, Nyadire and Mutambara United Methodist Hospitals are doing what they can to help the droves of people seeking medical attention. Despite the hospital's limited capacity to serve everyone in need, UMCOR is helping these hospitals stay in operation by providing cholera kits to treat 2,600 people, supporting staff salaries, providing food, medical supplies and 35 Medicine Boxes which will arrive in February.
UMCOR will also help in the rehabilitation and reconstruction of an old Nyadire water system that will give the Nyadire United Methodist Hospital and mission station a dependable water supply for about 500,000 people.
Learn more. Download the latest Zimbabwe church bulletin now and share this information with your local congregation. Or, use UMCOR's new Zimbabwe Power Point slide to engage your congregation into collecting a special offering. Help UMCOR continue to bring relief to areas most in need. Give to Zimbabwe Emergency, UMCOR Advance #199456.
By shopping UMCOR's Gift Catalog, you are giving the gift of life and hope to those who have minimal access to medicines, healthcare, food or education.
A gift of $50 can provide five rapid diagnostic tests that will help detect malaria easily in sub-Sahara Africa. For $100, a girl in the Democratic Republic of Congo can attend school for one full academic year, or $200 can help the elderly in the nation of Georgia get much-needed medicine at no cost to them and will support UMCOR's ongoing work there.
These are some of the gifts of hope offered through UMCOR's Gift Catalog. Each item in the gift catalog is an example of what your gift can accomplish in this program. One hundred percent of all gifts will go to the listed Advance project.
View the Gift Catalog now and give a gift that changes the world.
UMCOR provides emergency relief in many areas of the world. To find out more about UMCOR's ministries, please visit umcor.org. You can donate to any project by placing a contribution in the offering plate at a local United Methodist church; by sending a check to UMCOR, PO Box 9068, New York, NY 10087-9068; or by calling 1-800-554-8583, where credit card donations are accepted. You can also give online at givetomission.org. UMCOR is exempt from tax under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of the United States and qualifies for the maximum charitable contribution deduction by donors.
United Methodist Committee on Relief
General Board of Global Ministries, The United Methodist Church
Room 330, 475 Riverside Drive, New York, NY 10115
Voice Phone: 1-212-870-3816; FAX: 1-212-870-3624
Email: umcor@gbgm-umc.org
Web: http://www.umcor.org
UMCOR. Be There. Be Hope.
UMCOR's mission is to alleviate human suffering-whether caused by war, conflict, or natural disaster-with open minds and hearts to all people.
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
