HOTLINE - week of December 26, 2005

Church World Service prays a peaceful and joyous end to 2005 and looks to 2006 with faith and hope. Happy New Year!

The situation remains critical in the Darfur region of western Sudan, where some two million people have been uprooted by what the U.S. Congress has termed genocidal violence. These farm families are now at risk for hepatitis, malnutrition, and respiratory disorders – and, they are placing a strain on host communities already struggling with poverty and limited resources.

CWS has helped to support the work of Action by Churches Together-Caritas and local partners in the region since July 2004. Some 325,000 people have been assisted so far. Two rural hospitals and 26 clinics have been constructed or rehabilitated; more than 120 water points have been established, with 70 more rehabilitated; 3,000-plus latrines have been constructed; 65,000 households have received non-food items; 42 schools have been rehabilitated; 36,000 children and pregnant or lactating mothers received vital supplementary feeding; and psychosocial support has been provided to families and communities scared by the violence that forced them to flee their homes.

CWS and our partners will continue to respond to the needs of displaced families and host communities in Darfur through 2006, addressing critical preventative healthcare, water and sanitation, nutrition, and education needs.

Southern Sudanese church leaders see hope in the UN organized repatriation process, begun December 17. CWS is assisting families returning south following a peace accord ending a 21-year north-south war. CWS is supporting efforts to provide basic health services, seeds, tools, water and sanitation assistance, and strengthening livelihood options, such as fishing.

Your continued support is needed for relief and recovery efforts in Sudan.

Survival needs remain paramount in the continuing aftermath of the October 8 earthquake. Some 2.5 million people are now in tents or emergency shelters below 5,000 feet, but as many as 400,000 more continue to be at risk at higher elevations where snow is normally several feet deep by January. CWS and partners in the region continue to work to stabilize the shelter and health situation by providing shelter kits, tents, plastic sheets, and basic health services. Additional funding is urgently needed to support these relief efforts.

In this holiday season, "We can't let the rest of the country forget Gulf Hurricane evacuees," stresses Chip Corcoran of Refugee Services of Texas Domestic Relief Services (DRS).

DRS is one of nine agencies in a 10-state CWS-supported program serving evacuees. DRS works with hurricane survivors in Dallas, Fort Worth, and Austin, and predicts a rough winter for evacuees still in need of assistance.

To assist displaced families in need in Dallas, DRS meets on a weekly basis with Harrambee, a group of faith-based organizations and service providers that offers programming to evacuees including housing, job fairs, and legal clinics.

Despite making progress in some areas, DRS-Fort Worth's Shiela Knox notes, "Many of the evacuees are still in hotels and need transportation to jobs and other resources." She continues, "Some need help getting jobs, placing children in school, as well as in childcare. In short, there are still many people in need of help."

More information on the CWS response to the Gulf Hurricanes.

December 26 marks the one-year anniversary of the devastating earthquake and resulting tsunami that struck Indian Ocean countries, claiming some 275,000 lives. The work of rebuilding shattered communities will take years – and CWS and our partners will be there with your support. Please join CWS in marking this somber anniversary in thoughtful prayer for those who lost loved ones, and in hope for the continuing recovery.

Personal stories and photos of tsunami recovery.

CWS and local partner Sant Kretyen Pou Developman Entegre (SKDE) are promoting sustainable access to locally grown food for 1,700 peasant families affected by Tropical Storm Jeanne. These families were food insecure even before the storm, due to chronic drought, extreme poverty, and food scarcity caused by both human-made and natural disasters. The storm exacerbated their already dire situation.

Participating families are benefiting from training, technical assistance, and affordable credit for the purchase of tools, seeds, fertilizers, and livestock. Cooperative members, especially women, are gaining empowerment thanks to affordable credit for income generation, as well as literacy courses.

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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