HOTLINE - week of August 20, 2007

Church World Service is accepting contributions for Hurricane Dean response in Mexico, and will be supporting response and recovery efforts undertaken by some of our member denominations that have churches there. We expect to share details of those response efforts, and issue an appeal for assistance, in the days ahead.

On August 15, an earthquake measuring 8.0 on the Richter scale hit the region of Ica, along the south central coast of Peru, killing more than 500 people and destroying or damaging tens of thousands of homes and other buildings.

The province of Ica was the most damaged, an area where there is a large Quechua and Aymara indigenous population and where many residents are extremely poor.

Church World Service is supporting the efforts of partners and fellow Action by Churches Together (ACT) coalition members who are assessing needs in less accessible, vulnerable, and poor rural areas in Peru. All three CWS partners and ACT members in Peru have activities in the affected area.

Torrential rains in many parts of Sudan have resulted in floods that damaged or destroyed tens of thousands of homes, along with infrastructure, social service facilities, crops, and livestock.

Church World Service is supporting the efforts of partners who are establishing an emergency base in north central Sudan, where they are joining a coordinated flood response by other humanitarian organizations and the Sudanese government.

The response includes distributing 2,000 mosquito nets, plastic sheeting, sleeping mats, and blankets to 1,000 of the most vulnerable families; providing medicines to five clinics; constructing three schools and five community latrines; and rehabilitating five schools.

Church World Service also continues to assist the efforts of partners in Darfur, western Sudan--providing shelter, clean water, and sanitation and helping to build health clinics and schools for displaced people living in camps.

Communities across the U.S. are transforming tents into works of art and expressing the desire for peace for the people of Darfur. The year-long Tents of Hope (tentsofhope.org) project is intended to draw attention to the genocide in Darfur, while encouraging monetary contributions--especially for Church World Service, Catholic Relief Services, and American Jewish World Service--to assist uprooted Sudanese-–many of whom have been living in tents for years.

Church World Service Indonesia continues to assist families affected by heavy rains, floods, and landslides in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, and this week is distributing hygiene kits to 994 families and water storage containers and bath towels to 792 families in the region. Church World Service has also assessed emergency shelter needs, as well as water quality in wells in several areas.

Church World Service continues to work closely with other members of the Action by Churches Together coalition.

As we approach the second anniversary of the 2005 Gulf Coast hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Church World Service continues to work through local long-term recovery groups in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Texas to help families repair their homes. Thus far, Church World Service has provided $2,568,989--distributing grants from Habitat for Humanity of less than $5,000 up to $10,000 per project--to help repair 443 homes damaged by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Milos Dobreva is a Roma, who, along with his family, fled the violence in Kosovo in the late 1990s. Since 1999, he, his wife, and their six children have lived in Krusevac, Serbia, as internally displaced persons.

In Kosovo, the family had their own home, and Dobreva worked in a sawmill. In Krusevac, the family lives in a rented house. Initially, Church World Service helped the family with some basics: blankets and bedding, CWS School Kits and Hygiene Kits, potato and onion seeds.

Dobreva also qualified for the Church World Service Balkans project "Support to Displaced Children," which equips parents to regain their livelihoods. He received a circular saw through the program, and is now using his skills to meet the family's basic needs. From his income, Dobreva has also saved enough money to buy a washing machine, and has taught his eldest son to operate it. Together, they offer services to their neighbors and others in Krusevac.

Dobreva's dream is for the family to have a home they can call their own and to educate all his children so that they can be self-supporting. Church World Service support was the first step to realizing this dream.

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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