HOTLINE - week of September 26, 2005

Updated September 26, 2005

Hurricane Rita made landfall near Port Arthur, Texas, pounding that area of Texas and the westernmost parts of Louisiana including Lake Charles, Cameron, and Abbeville, early Saturday, Sept. 24. The storm brought less damage than had been feared, largely sparing low-lying Galveston and Houston, Texas, though heavy rains flooded large parts of the southwestern coast of Louisiana and put New Orleans under water for a second time.

Ten thousand (10,000) CWS Blankets and 10,000 "Gift of the Heart" Health Kits are being provided to assist in Rita-affected areas. A CWS-trained and assisted network of local emergency response organizations is assisting Hurricane Rita-affected families with immediate and long-term needs – as they have been helping those affected by Katrina. This week, CWS Disaster Response and Recovery Liaison Joann Hale is working in southeastern Texas and western Louisiana, continuing the work begun by DRRL Heriberto Martinez with Houston, Austin, and San Antonio recovery organizations. In addition, CWS trauma recovery teams will help church leaders and other caregivers to work with communities traumatized by Katrina and Rita.

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, CWS has thus far provided more than $1.2 million in material assistance, including CWS Blankets, "Gift of the Heart" Health Kits, School Kits, Kids Kits, and Emergency Clean-up Buckets, as well as 20 Interchurch Medical Assistance medicine boxes (with enough medicines for about 20,000 people for three months), and UNICEF Recreational Kits to help children cope with the stress of displacement. Shipments have been made to Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Arkansas, as well as to relocation centers in Michigan and Virginia.

Please visit our website at www.churchworldservice.org for answers to frequently asked questions about CWS hurricane response.

The best way to help hurricane survivors is cash donations. CWS is urgently seeking additional funds to assist families devastated by the hurricanes. Contributions may be made online or by calling 800-297-1516. "Gift of the Heart" Kits – especially School Kits and Health Kits – are also needed.

Families in several communities in Kenya are taking part in a CWS project that is developing clean water resources and creating secure and nurturing school environments for their children.

CWS Executive Director Rev. John L. McCullough sees the CWS "Water for Life" ministry as more than just the building of wells. "It represents hope for families whose babies now will have a chance to grow up instead of dying young from deadly intestinal diseases just because there is no clean drinking water nearby."

This project will offer health services at the 2,000-pupil Kawangware Primary School, located in the Kawangware slum area just outside Nairobi, the capital. During the inauguration week of the Kenya water and health projects – September 26-30 – there are vision and health clinics for Kawangware students and residents of the area, and distribution of eyeglasses in cooperation with the local Lions Club. The clinics at the school are being staffed by 25 U.S. doctors and 100 Kenyan doctors and nurses.

On September 27, the mission partners are visiting the Suswa and Mai-Mahiu areas to commission three wells. This year, more than 120 people have been killed in conflicts stemming from the blocking of a stream that waters Maasai livestock by Kikuyu tribe members in the area. On September 27, the mission partners will hand over the wells to the two tribes.

According to Moses Ole Sakuda, a CWS associate director, the project has been received "with joy and praise" and, most important, "has brought peace to the region."

The mission partners are also traveling to Maasai villages in Emkaroni, Kajiado District, on September 29, to dedicate three additional new wells. At that time, visiting doctors will also treat local residents

Your prayers and support - and your participation in CROP WALKS and the TOOLS & BLANKETS Program - make possible these and other life sustaining programs. For information on how to get involved, please call your Church World Service/CROP Regional Office toll-free at 1-888-CWS-CROP, that's 1-888-297-2767.

For information about free loan videos, please call 1-800-297-1516, ext. 338, or e-mail us at: videos@churchworldservice.org.

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