HOTLINE - week of October 10, 2005

Updated October 11, 2005.

A powerful earthquake on October 8 near the Pakistan-India border has killed more than 21,000 people, most in Pakistan. The death toll is expected to rise. Especially affected is the contested region of Kashmir. The quake has destroyed numerous villages where mud buildings are common, and has caused numerous mudslides.

Church World Service Pakistan/Afghanistan immediately began distribution of relief assistance, moving family food packages and 6,000 shelter kits to Murree, north of Islamabad, for initial relief distribution efforts. All CWS staff in the Pakistan capital of Islamabad are accounted for, however some family members have been lost.

CWS is assisting 15,000 affected families with food and non-food items. Emergency food packages (including wheat flour, rice, beans, cooking oil, sugar, tea leaves, salt, and match boxes) meet a family’s needs for one month and will be distributed in the most affected and remote areas of Northwest Frontier Province, near the border with Afghanistan, and in Azad Kashmir. Non-food items include shelter kits and reconstruction supplies.

In addition, CWS is providing medical assistance, immunization and first aid, to 100,000 affected individuals – half in Azad Kashimir and half in the Northwest Frontier Province – in two health centers.

Three teams are assessing needs and determining longer-term CWS response, which may focus around Mansehra and Murree, communities north of Islamabad where CWS has programs, as well as good community connections.

CWS staff in Afghanistan have also begun assessment in affected regions of that country.

An interfaith prayer session was held at the Church World Service Pakistan/Afghanistan Central Office. Staff from Christian, Muslim, and Hindu faiths collectively prayed for the victims of this major disaster.

Church World Service has had relief and development operations in Pakistan for more than 25 years. For more information on CWS response to the South Asia / Pakistan earthquake, please visit the Newsroom at www.churchworldservice.org. Your support is urgently needed. Contributions may also be made online, or by calling 800.297.1516, ext. 222.

October 12 is the International Day for Natural Disaster Reduction – a day to promote disaster prevention, mitigation, and preparedness. CWS is working with partners around the world and here in the U.S. to help lessen the effects of natural disasters on vulnerable communities.

"The people here are resilient," Church World Service staffer Melina Pavlides reports from Louisiana, where CWS is working with the local faith community to address the needs of families affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Jim Grant, executive director of Vermillion Faith Community of Care, said that CWS assistance in 2002 helped build the foundation for the current response to Katrina. "What caught my attention then was what Church World Service said at the time… three years from [now] you will want to say the hurricane was in one respect a blessing because as a result, the pastors and faith community now work better together," Grant said. "Three years later that’s really true. The hurricanes, CWS assistance, and our response were all catalysts for long-term recovery. It was a success."

The best way to help hurricane survivors is cash donations. Thus far, CWS has provided $1.4 million in material assistance for people affected by the Hurricanes. CWS Blankets have been provided, as well as "Gift of the Heart" Health, School, and Kids Kits; CWS Emergency Clean-up Buckets; medical supplies; and UNICEF recreational/ educational kits.

More "Gift of the Heart" Kits – especially School Kits and Health Kits – are needed, as well as support to replenish the supply of CWS Emergency Clean-up Buckets.

CWS is urgently seeking additional funds to assist families devastated by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita – contributions may be made online or by calling 800-297-1516.

The CWS response to the December 26, 2004, tsunami that rocked coastal areas of the Indian Ocean has helped families caught by the waves to rebuild their lives, and due to the extent of the devastation, recovery efforts will continue into 2006.

In areas where longer-term rehabilitation and livelihood recovery assistance are already in progress, CWS has provided materials and equipment for farmers. Livestock, and the appropriate vaccination supplies, have been provided for those families traditionally focused on animal husbandry. CWS is also providing income-generating equipment, such as sewing machines and fishing boats, to people as their needs are identified through partner agencies and assessments.

For the upcoming year, CWS will focus on continuing to meet the emergency needs of vulnerable groups, providing psychosocial care to children through the Fun and Educational Activities program, providing clean water and appropriate sanitation facilities, responding to the health and nutritional needs of families, rebuilding homes, addressing the livelihood recovery needs of a variety of communities, and working to build the capacity of our local partners and civil society organizations.

Guatemala, El Salvador, and Nicaragua are experiencing emergencies. Flooding and mudslides from Hurricane Stan may have killed an estimated 3,000 or more people, most in Guatemala and El Salvador; parts of southern Mexico are also affected. An Oct. 7 earthquake destroyed bridges and knocked out communication in parts of El Salvador and Guatemala. El Salvador is also facing the after-effects of a volcanic eruption on Oct 1. Finally, people in the northeast coastal area of Nicaragua, along the Coco River, are experiencing a food crisis brought on by a plague of rats and worms that have eaten food crops.

CWS will be responding with Action by Churches Together and partners in the region. More specifics of response efforts will be shared in the days ahead.

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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