UMCOR works with churches on India tsunami relief
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Photo by Peter H�vring, Aid/ACT International Houses in Ininthakarai, India, show damage caused by the tsunami.
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Houses
in Ininthakarai, India, show damage caused by the tsunami. The Madras
Regional Conference of the Methodist Church raised about $100,000 to
serve tsunami-affected communities, according to the Rev. Kristin Sachen
of the United Methodist Committee on Relief. A UMNS photo by Peter
H�vring, Aid/ACT International. Photo #05-363. Accompanies UMNS story
#295. 5/12/05 |
May 12, 2005 By Michelle Scott* NEW
YORK (UMNS)—Methodist Churches in southeast India and Andaman Island
are paving the way for long-term recovery in their regions following
last December’s tsunami. The
Madras Regional Conference raised about $100,000 to serve
tsunami-affected communities, the largest disaster response offering the
conference has ever received, according to the Rev. Kristin Sachen of
the United Methodist Committee on Relief. Sachen
visited the region at the end of April to find ways to support relief
efforts that the churches there have already mounted. UMCOR
is partnering with the Churches Auxiliary for Social Action and the
Christian Medical Association of India to operate mobile health clinics
through a grant of $320,000 to be delivered in installments over the
next four years. One
congregation making a difference is Wesley Methodist Church, near the
city of Chennai in southeast India. The church is providing assistance
to the residents of the surrounding slum, which was flooded by a
backwash of sewage into their shacks. Goals include providing school
fees for 100 children whose families lost all of their belongings in the
flood.
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Photo by Peter H�vring, Aid/ACT International Fishermen return from their first trip to sea after the Dec. 26 tsunami hit India's eastern coast.
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The
crews of two new fishing boats haul their nets ashore after returning
from their first trip to sea after the tsunami in December. The Madras
Regional Conference of the Methodist Church raised about $100,000 to
serve tsunami-affected communities, according to the Rev. Kristin Sachen
of the United Methodist Committee on Relief. A UMNS photo courtesy of
LWSI, ACT International. Photo #05-364. Accompanies UMNS story #295.
5/12/05 |
The tsunami damage
is severe on Andaman Island, which sits in the Bay of Bengal. The
fishing community was particularly hard hit, Sachen reported, and boats
are still submerged in the water. Fishing families can no longer sleep
in their houses because the permanently altered coastline allows the
night tide to wash into their homes. Farmers
were also severely affected. The waves of salt water ruined the rice
patties, and desalinating the soil will take about three years, she
said. Four churches on the island are organizing to serve the
hardest-hit populations with UMCOR’s help. Besides
India, UMCOR is funding tsunami work in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Somalia
and Thailand, after receiving unprecedented donations of $32.4 million. *Scott is a communications specialist for the United Methodist Committee on Relief. News media contact: Linda Bloom, New York, (646) 369-3759 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
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