Quake Recovery Underway in Peru

Thursday, August, 23, A.D. 2007

The death toll from the 8.0 magnitude earthquake that struck the South American nation of Peru on August 15 has reached 503 persons. More than 1000 have been injured and more than 34,000 families affected, mainly through the loss of their homes. Roads, bridges, utility lines and other basic infrastructure has been severely damaged, impacting relief and recovery efforts.

Week of Compassion’s response has been two-fold thus far. A grant from the Compassion Response Fund has been made through the Latin America and Caribbean Office in Global Ministries to its partner, ALAS (The Association of Legal Help and Social Action), to provide drinking water, food, blankets and other basic relief items to some 500 people in the community of Cachiche in hard-hit Ica province.

WOC is also preparing to support a major appeal from Action by Churches Together (ACT) to assist the relief and recovery efforts of the three ACT members in Peru - DIACONIA, PREDES and Lutheran World Relief – all of which have operations in the affected area. Assistance includes the provision of temporary emergency shelter, latrines, food kits, water containers, hygiene kits and psychosocial care for survivors, especially some 500 traumatized children. ACT has already issued a $50,000 grant from its Rapid Response Fund to help operations begin and will be issuing an appeal in the next few days to the ACT network for ongoing relief and recovery work. WOC will be responding on behalf of the Disciples.

Flooding Strikes U.S. Midwest

The remnants of Tropical Storm Erin have brought more misery to the already water-logged Midwest. At least 26 deaths have now been attributed to this latest round of flooding and storms. Texas, Oklahoma, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Ohio have been especially hard hit – with officials in Ohio calling this the worst flooding in a century. As Week of Compassion awaits further assessments from local relief and recovery partners, emergency grants have already been sent to First CC and El Redentor CC in Houston, TX, for facility damage; to First CC, Kingfisher, First CC, Geary, and First CC, El Reno, OK, to assist with affected members; and to First CC, Bucyrus and First CC, Findlay, OH. Nikki Mazza-Fredley, pastor at Findlay, reports major flood damage to the church building and is concerned that a number of her families could be affected. In the meanwhile, WOC continues to contact regional offices and local pastors about other congregations that might be affected.

WOC Director Heads to Darfur

Week of Compassion Director, Johnny Wray, leaves tomorrow for a ten-day trip to Darfur, Sudan, to visit refugee camps assisted by the Darfur Emergency Relief Operations (DERO). DERO is a joint effort of the predominantly Protestant and Orthodox relief network, Action by Churches Together, and Caritas International, a confederation of Catholic relief agencies worldwide, to assist thousands of refugees displaced by the violence in Darfur. Working in camps in Darfur and eastern Chad, DERO’s efforts include provision of basic relief items; health and nutrition support; water and sanitation; education; peace-building; psychosocial care; and agricultural support. WOC/Disciples have been strong supporters of the ACT appeal for Darfur and have provided $272,000 since DERO began in 2004, including $106,000 thus far in 2007.

Humanitarian Needs are Staggering

Week of Compassion continues to monitor the situation across the Caribbean and Mexico in the aftermath of Hurricane Dean, the third strongest hurricane in meteorological history. Also, the floods across India, Bangladesh and several other Asian countries are on our current list of major disasters, as are the Peru earthquake, the Iraqi refugee crisis and the Darfur crisis. We continue to respond to a host of needs across the U.S. in response to the current and earlier summer floods. Designated gifts to WOC are needed and deeply appreciated and can be made online or sent to WOC, attn: Elaine Cleveland, P.O. Box 1986, Indpls, IN 46206.

WOC Map/Poster

Click here for the latest additions to the WOC interactive map/poster. For a complimentary copy of the map/poster for your congregation, call the office at 317.713.2442 or send an e-mail to ecleveland@woc.disciples.org.