HOTLINE - week of May 12, 2008

"Our strength is that we have local partners with and through whom we work, and they are able to have access to affected communities," says Donna Derr, CWS Director of Emergency Response. Church World Service is coordinating with partners to help meet needs of families affected by Cyclone Nargis, which devastated Myanmar's Irrawaddy Delta on May 3. The official death toll is now almost 29,000, with 33,000 missing. However, various estimates put the number who have perished as a result of the disaster at some 100,000. As many as 1.9 million people need emergency assistance.

"Our local partners have been distributing water purification tablets, bottled water, and rice to families from commodities either available in country or through [other] channels," Derr adds.

Initially, CWS is providing emergency relief assistance—water (including purification supplies, bladders and tanks) and shelter (tarps and blankets) supplies to assist some 3,000-4,000 families. And, in collaboration with Interchurch Medical Assistance, CWS is also providing basic medicines and medical supplies to equip clinics to treat some 100,000 people for up to three months.

Church World Service is urgently seeking funds to help address the enormous scope of emergency and recovery needs of survivors.

In its ongoing response to the needs of those most vulnerable to the escalating costs of basic foods, Church World Service is putting additional focus on agricultural development, extension, and food security programs with struggling families.

A number of CWS projects are helping people to improve their food security. In India, for example, families in more than 3,500 villages in 13 states are learning strategies to increase both their consistent access to food and their incomes, with help from long-time CWS partner Church’s Auxiliary for Social Action (CASA).

Many of the most vulnerable people in India--dalits (members of the lowest caste in India), tribal and rural landless people, ethnic and religious minorities--suffer from social exclusion and lack of basic services. Women and girls are also impacted by gender discrimination. These groups find it difficult to provide for even their most basic needs.

With CASA’s help, farmers in these vulnerable groups are learning new sustainable agricultural practices in organic farming, composting, pest control, water management, and using indigenous vegetable seeds. Communities are working to strengthen local government. And women are gaining access to resources and taking advantage of new opportunities for earning a living.

Church World Service is providing 540 CWS Hygiene Kits for children at All Tribes American Indian Charter School, in Valley Center, CA.

Over the Mother's Day weekend, tornadoes wrought havoc and left people dead in parts of Missouri, Oklahoma, and Georgia. CWS Emergency Response Specialists are in communication with affected areas. CWS is ready to provide material resources, training, and project development support to help meet needs that arise from these storms.

A magnitude 7.9 earthquake struck the southwest China province of Sichuan on May 12, killing at least 12,000 people. Many buildings in the region have collapsed.

Church World Service is supporting the efforts of long-time partner, the Amity Foundation, which is providing drinking water and food for quake-affected families in heavily-damaged Dujiangyan city, following the May 12 earthquake that hit southwest China. Working with local partners in each province, Amity relief operations are expected to expand to include Dujiangyan and five other counties in Sichuan Province, as well as Longnan city in Gansu Province, Baoji city and Hanzhong city in Sha'anxi Province.

Amity is focusing on some 8,000 vulnerable families. Within this group, 16,000 of the most vulnerable individuals will receive sufficient food to tide them over through the immediate emergency, and the 8,000 families will receive quilts and sheets of plastic cloth to protect them from the elements.

Following the crisis, Amity will assist in rebuilding 600 destroyed homes, constructing ten schools, rebuilding five hospitals or clinics, and rehabilitating five drinking water or irrigation systems.

Contributions are urgently needed to assist with quake recovery efforts in China.

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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