Long Term Recovery Organizations Key to Response

Thursday, March 1, A.D. 2007

One of the key components of the Disciples Hurricane Recovery Initiative (and, as always, an important part of Week of Compassion's relief and recovery response to any disaster) is support of Long Term Recovery Organizations (LTROs). These grassroots community/interfaith efforts are committed to meeting the unmet needs of the most vulnerable disaster-affected populations, who typically have few personal resources and little access to insurance and government assistance programs. Church World Service disaster staff works closely with LTROs to provide organizational, funding and other expertise. Our Disciples Mission Stations, and thus our Disciples work teams, receive many of their home repair/rehab assignments from local LTROs.

Since the Disciples Hurricane Recovery Initiative was launched on September 1, 2006, Week of Compassion has provided $269,438 to 23 LTROs in Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas, and such support will remain a priority for WOC through August 30, 2008, and beyond, as many of our LTRO partners are looking at recovery work plans that extend for several years.

The Office of Disciples Volunteering reports that 300 Disciples work groups have gone or are scheduled to go to the Gulf South for hurricane recovery work since the Initiative was launched. That is 40% of our 750 goal after just six months. Even more, it is an incalculable amount of help and hope for hundreds of hurricane survivors who need the church's assistance to get back in their homes. For more information about hurricane work teams and how to participate, click here.

CWS Issues Urgent Appeal for Kits

Church World Service has issued an urgent appeal to its member churches for CWS school kits and baby kits. Currently, CWS has only 200 school kits in inventory that are not committed for upcoming shipments. Requests for school kits, just since the first of the year, have exceeded requests during the whole of 2006. According to Donna Derr, Director of the CWS Emergency Response Program, "I think this reflects new interest on the part of many partners in receiving material resources to undergird their program work, which is wonderful. However, it means we need to work at keeping our inventory at more consistent levels to meet increasing need, which we anticipate continuing." Baby kit inventory is also dwindling and CWS is expecting a number of requests over the next few months. For more information on the CWS kit program, click here.

Floods Strike Southern Africa

Week of Compassion is monitoring several alerts from Action by Churches Together (ACT) about flood emergencies across southern Africa. In recent weeks heavy rains have brought flooding to Angola, Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia. Tens of thousands of people have been displaced, food crops have been destroyed, and now outbreaks of cholera and other waterborne diseases are being reported. ACT has responded from its Rapid Response Fund to assist relief efforts of local ACT partners and is preparing appeals to its member churches. WOC will respond accordingly on behalf of the Disciples.

WOC Map/Poster

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