HOTLINE - week of March 27, 2006

Since an attack by militia, Maliru Muheha has not stayed overnight in her house. Like most people in her region, she prefers to hide at night in the open. As the evening falls, she starts to climb to the nearby hills to be there before dark.

"I have three teenage daughters, and I don’t want to take any risks," says Muheha. "We put the blankets on the ground and try to sleep. It's not easy, and we are very tired during the days. It's worst when it rains. We try to protect ourselves with the banana leaves, but we still get wet and cold. But it is better to be safe there than to wait here where anything can happen," she says.

Long-running military conflicts between rival militias in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) continue to threaten civilians in some remote areas of the country, while in other areas families are beginning to restart their lives.

In Lubero district, in the northeastern part of the country, many people who were displaced for a number of years have now returned to their villages. CWS is supporting partner efforts to help families restart their lives.

These efforts include assisting 1,200 people with seeds, tools, small breeding livestock, and agricultural technical advice.

Some 20,000 people will benefit from the partner reconstruction of a damaged road that links rural areas to the town of Butembo.

In addition, people in and around the town of Beni are benefiting from the construction of a school, along with furniture, educational materials, water and sanitation facilities for some 500 children; a dispensary/ maternity facility to treat some 5,000 persons – especially women and children; and 12 water facilities for some 10,000 people.

Support is needed for these efforts.

A 26-year war in Angola ended in 2002, but now the country faces other problems, including floods and food shortages. There are also unresolved political problems: In Uige province, on Angola's border with Democratic Republic of Congo, there have been recent clashes between rebels and DRC troops, with troops crossing into Angola. This has resulted in displacements of border-area families.

In addition, heavy rains in recent weeks have caused severe flooding in the border areas. CWS partner, the Evangelical Reformed Church of Angola (IERA), has determined that flooding has destroyed 1,653 homes, as well as 3,765 farm fields.

CWS is seeking funds to support the efforts of IERA, which is providing food assistance, plastic sheeting, cooking sets, blankets, clean-up buckets, and medicines for some 15,000 people affected by floods and displacement.

CWS is urging the Senate to develop bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform that will offer sensible, humane, truly comprehensive solutions. For more information and to find out how you can help, please visit the Speak Out links on www.churchworldservice.org.

Some 100 farm families in five vulnerable communities in Northern Choluteca Province are working to improve their food security, with the help of CWS and our partner Christian Commission for Development.

The cost of commercial seed is prohibitive. In this first phase of the three-year project, the farmers are learning how to improve the productivity of local varieties of seed and root vegetables, as well as how to store and market the vegetables after the harvest.

Failure of rains between August and November 2005 is causing a food deficit for nearly four million people in Tanzania. CWS partners are providing food aid for 80,500 of the most vulnerable people – the elderly, expectant mothers, disabled people, women-headed families, and those living with HIV/AIDS -- in seven rural areas of the country. Your support for these efforts is needed.

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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