UMCOR to assist displaced people in Zimbabwe June 29, 2005 NEW YORK (UMNS)—The United Methodist Committee on Relief is among the faith-based humanitarian agencies that will provide basic necessities to hundreds of thousands of people recently displaced from homes and jobs in Zimbabwe. Tents, cooking utensils, soap, and emergency food are among the aid to be distributed in coming weeks, according to UMCOR officials. Warm blankets will also be available, since June and July are the coldest months of the year in Zimbabwe’s high rolling plateaus. The agency has established a special Advance fund to assist the displaced in Zimbabwe. Donations to UMCOR should be earmarked for “Zimbabwe Emergency,” Advance #199456. Contributions may be dropped in church collection plates or mailed directly to UMCOR, P.O. Box 9068, New York, NY 10087-9068. Credit-card donations can be made by calling (800) 554-8583. The Rev. Mvume Dandala, a South African Methodist pastor and chief executive of the All Africa Conference of Churches, has expressed concerns about displaced families in Zimbabwe. A number of those families are now exposed to harsh winter conditions and lack water, shelter and food, he pointed out. Women and children, in particular, are threatened with possibilities of an outbreak of disease.
In a June 24 statement, Dandala appealed to African governments, the international donor community and specialized aid agencies to respond to the urgent needs of hundreds of people displaced in various towns of Zimbabwe under the government’s “clean-up” campaign. The world, he said, has the moral obligation to help the Zimbabwean people, particularly at this hour of need.
News media contact: Linda Bloom, New York, (646) 369-3759 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
|
Korean News
