Issuu

ACTION UPDATE YOUR U.S. AND GLOBAL DISASTER RESPONSE IMPACT REPORT

“For me, the work of UMCOR is a

human face....” — Norma J. Kehrberg (1938-2019)

No matter what kind of disaster UMCOR confronts—flooding, rain, drought, wildfire, civil unrest, or pandemic—you are there to extend the love of God to families and communities in distress.

photo by Kathy Bryson

Neighbors Helping Neighbors Across the Street and Around the World

Given the unprecedented climate catastrophes occurring at home and around the world, the dedication, expertise, and cooperation of UMCOR’s disaster response efforts are more vital now than ever.

ll along the West Coast of the United States, wildfires are destroying communities and devastating the American landscape.

More than 75 fires fed by drought and record heat waves have already consumed more than one million acres across 13 states.

A wildfire that ravages more than 100,000 acres is classified as a “megafire,” and some are big enough to generate their own weather conditions, creating hazardous columns of lightning-charged smoke and ash that can reach the stratosphere. “The heavy winds come and drive the fires, creating aggressive fire behavior,” says Sonja Edd-Bennett. Since 2018, she has been working to increase disaster response capacity as the disaster response coordinator for the California-Nevada Conference. The role of the conference disaster response coordinator is to help local communities and churches prepare

for effective disaster response and to help them assume leadership roles when disaster occurs. On a practical level, this means overseeing volunteer and staff training; the distribution of relief supplies; damage and site assessments; debris removal; the formation of long-term recovery groups; efforts to rebuild and respond to unmet needs; and the staffing of disaster assistance centers. “We are touching people when they are at their most raw and vulnerable,” says Ms. Edd-Bennett. “We bring a caring Christian presence and walk alongside them so that one day they will be able to walk forward on their own.” In addition, she says that the flexibility UMCOR allows for disaster response funds to be used for the people and projects that are “most needed” is key to ensuring that the most vulnerable receive the assistance they need. Ms. Edd-Bennett is also grateful for the guidance and expertise of UMCOR staff.

“With all the fires we’ve had going on in the Western Jurisdiction, UMCOR staff and consultants have reached out every couple of days to ask, ‘Are you okay? Do you need help? We are here as a resource for you,’” she says. “To some degree, they walk beside us as we walk beside the survivors.”

You Were There in 2020—and in 2021 In 2020, severe weather events in the United States killed more than 250 people, injured thousands, and caused $95 billion in damages. And the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) prediction that 2021 will be another above-normal Atlantic storm season has communities along the U.S. coastline bracing for the worst. With the help of people like you, UMCOR is continuing to do what it does best—coordinating with local partners to respond quickly to help survivors of current disasters and preparing to meet the needs of those yet to come.

Wind and Rain Last July, Hurricane Hanna unfurled across the U.S.Mexico border, drenching southern Texas with 15 inches of rain and damaging more than 2,000 homes—all in the midst of a COVID-19 surge. UMCOR rushed to respond, working with the Rio Texas Conference and other local partners to help displaced families. Retired college professor Eugene Hileman, disaster response coordinator for the Rio Texas Conference since 2008, helped oversee the effort, which included early response team coordination and the distribution of relief materials and cleaning kits to nearly 2,000 families. More recently, Dr. Hileman led his team in a swift response to Texans affected by the historic February 2021 winter outbreak that brought snow, sleet, freezing rain, and frigid temperatures to most of Texas including all of the Rio Texas Conference.

You were there because UMCOR was there, supporting Dr. Hileman and his team as they coordinated the efforts of volunteers and delivered cleaning kits to communities suffering damages from burst pipes and other effects of the severe cold. Dr. Hileman volunteers an average of 20 hours per week; but during catastrophes like Hanna, he is on call 50 or 60 hours a week. He is especially concerned for families in underserved and impoverished communities. Often living without safety nets, lacking insurance coverage, and relegated to homes in flood-prone areas, they are the ones who can least afford to be hit by calamity.

“We raise money here in our conference, but not nearly enough to do what we have to do in the event of a large disaster. But when we combine our money with UMCOR’s, we make something really wonderful happen.” —Dana Bryson, Co-Disaster Response Coordinator for the Pacific Northwest Conference One such community is D’Hanis, a small unincorporated enclave in central Medina County, Texas, that was hit hard by a major hailstorm this spring. “We’re the only outside group working there,” says Dr. Hileman. “These folks present a sort of special burden for us because we know that if we leave, they’re stuck.” He credits UMCOR with making his disaster response work—and that of his conference—possible. “We are very dependent on UMCOR,” he says. “Our mission would change drastically without them. UMCOR helps us be who we are.”

Survivors Rely on You In 2020, you were there for survivors by: • Assisting nearly 325,000 survivors of climate and manmade disasters in 52 countries. • Funding 133 UMCOR disaster response projects totaling more than $8 million. • Training 1,755 individuals in effective disaster ministry.

Respond Today Point your phone’s camera and help us prepare and respond quickly when disasters happen.

UMCOR’s funding allows Dr. Hileman’s team to “hit the ground running” in an effort to meet survivors’ immediate needs following a disaster. The case management and disaster response training that UMCOR provides is also key, says Dr. Hileman—as are the encouragement, idea sharing, and collaboration received from UMCOR staff. “We are proud to wear the UMCOR name,” he says. “All of our signage for the Humanitarian Disaster Response Rio Texas Conference always includes the line: ‘We are an UMCOR cooperating agency.’ We consider ourselves to be a part of UMCOR, and we consider UMCOR to be a part of us.”

Drought, Heat Waves, and Wildfires With 25 years of combat and disaster management experience with the U.S. military, retired Disaster

Response Coordinator for the Oregon-Idaho Conference Dan Moseler brought an abundance of relevant experience to the position he held (with a few detours) from 2013 to May 2021. When western Oregon recently endured 35 active wildfires from the Cascades to the coast, you were there to support Mr. Moseler and his team in bringing both immediate and long-term recovery assistance to survivors. With military training in preparedness and a selfdescribed passion for excellence, he feels the obligation “as a human being and as a Methodist” to give help where help is needed. “What UMCOR brings to the table is something that you just can’t quantify,” he says. “In addition to financial resources, they bring excellence in training, a commitment to helping people, and a credibility that cannot be equaled.”

Your Support Is Vital Give online or use the reply card enclosed. Your gift to UMCOR today will give vulnerable survivors of climate and manmade disaster around the world the help they need to rebuild their lives.

photo by Kathy Bryson

Looking to the Future As climate change continues to produce cataclysmic events around the world, the need for high-quality and committed disaster response is growing. Retired Disaster Response Coordinator for the OregonIdaho Conference Dan Moseler sadly recounts how today, one year after the wildfires in western Oregon started in earnest, about 1,100 people are still displaced from their homes.

photo by Kathy Bryson

“And that doesn’t include a very large undocumented population,” he says. “A lot of them are still couch surfing with two, three, or four families all living in one house. There’s a tremendous need.” Because of the stringent demands on volunteers, many burn out within two or three years. As a result, Mr. Moseler foresees an increasing demand for more of the kind of high-caliber disaster response training that UMCOR is known for providing. “Donors need to give,” says Sonja EddBennett, disaster response coordinator for

UMCOR’s Network Makes Your Gifts Go Farther In 2020, UMCOR joined with other non-profit, private, and public organizations to establish long-term recovery groups in California and Nevada. UMCOR directly funded relief kits for families and helped to rebuild homes by providing construction materials and facilitating case management support, volunteer coordination, and collaboration with external partners. UMCOR also supported relief efforts in these states by providing volunteer coordination, response coordination, and emergency relief supplies to evacuees, including water and food.

UMCOR AROUND THE WORLD

Opening Roads to Safety UMCOR reaches out to asylumseekers fleeing danger amid a global migration crisis of unprecedented scale.

t the crossroads between Eastern and Western Europe, Bosnia and Herzegovina is a major stop for migrants journeying to safety in the European Union. Approximately 18,000 people pass through every year, often from Pakistan, Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, Iran, and northern African countries.

Respond Today. Point your phone’s camera and help us prepare and respond quickly when disasters happen.

California-Nevada. “As the intensity and number of climate disasters increase, we need to build greater and greater capacity to meet the increasing needs of displaced and suffering survivors so that we can respond at greater and greater levels.” Through the unprecedented disaster challenges of 2020 and 2021, you have been there to help alleviate the suffering of survivors and give them hope for a future. No matter what kind of disaster our neighbors may face, you are there because UMCOR is there. Please continue to be there for families and communities in distress by supporting UMCOR with a gift today.

With the help of people like you, UMCOR is working Give by Faith with a local partner to resource recepSupport UMCOR tion centers where with a gift today staff welcome these to help alleviate asylum-seekers— the suffering of often unaccompaasylum-seekers nied children—and around the world. Give nourish them physionline or use the reply cally and emotionalcard enclosed. ly. Gifts from people like you recently expanded the centers’ outreach to include older boys who often huddle in makeshift settlements outside the shelters. A new $1.1 million UMCOR grant will help support thousands of asylum-seekers at the U.S.-Mexico border, creating a coordinated and holistic program to support 10,000 asylum-seekers at United Methodist Church border shelters. In addition, the effort will support case management and legal services for 800 asylum-seekers throughout the United States and improve referral systems for 1,000 asylum-seekers. UMCOR is also currently working with long-term partners in Indonesia, Colombia, and Kenya to support well-managed migration centers and programs that care for migrants’ needs.

Disaster by Another Name

As civil conflict impacts millions throughout the Middle East, UMCOR responds to the needs of survivors—with your help.

yclones and floods may be rare in many parts of the Middle East, but the area is no stranger to civil unrest—an equally devastating kind of disaster that has been exacerbated lately by spiking COVID-19 infections.

Initiated in 2011, the conflict has left 13 million people in dire need, displaced more than 6 million internally, and forced 5.6 million more Syrians to seek refuge in surrounding countries. Children represent 41% of all refugees, and 21% are women.

In May 2021, escalating violence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict killed 200 people, injured 1,500, and displaced 72,000. In total, nearly 4% of Gaza’s Palestinians are now internally displaced.

Recently, UMCOR coordinated with four Middle Eastern partners in Jordan and Lebanon to provide food, hygiene, and psychosocial support to people in need, including Syrian refugees. UMCOR is also providing vocational training, business start-up kits, and COVID-19 hygiene kits to support local recovery efforts in the suburbs of Damascus, Syria.

UMCOR uses its global network of partners to alleviate poverty and human suffering around the world.

Supported by people like you, UMCOR came to the aid of survivors, distributing hygiene kits equipped with masks, soap, and hand sanitizer, vital items in the fight against COVID-19.

In Jerusalem, UMCOR worked with local partners to give more than 500 Palestinian farming families from the city’s Tulkarem district 8 miles of accessible road, freeing up access to nearly 2,000 acres of prime agricultural land with which to feed their communities. With the help of people like you, UMCOR is also reaching out to survivors of the Syrian Civil War.

Give vulnerable survivors of civil conflict throughout the Middle East the tools they need to rebuild their lives. Give online or use the reply card enclosed. 6

In Yemen, which the United Nations has called the largest humanitarian crisis in the world today, UMCOR recently distributed COVID-19 hygiene kits and food to about 2,400 people. Ravaged by six years of civil war, nearly 25 million people—80% of the population—are in need, and nearly 2.3 million Yemeni children under five suffer from acute malnutrition.

Be There for Survivors in Need Please keep helping to make a difference for Palestinian, Syrian, and Yemeni survivors—and others like them—by making a gift in support of the work of UMCOR today.

Battling a Disease that Won’t Die A dedicated party in the global fight against COVID-19, UMCOR works with partners amid weakened health systems and economies.

hile weakening health systems in high-resource countries, the coronavirus pandemic has decimated the already meager resources of developing nations along with their ability to combat new surges of the devastating disease.

As of July 2021, 31 million people in India had been infected with COVID-19, half a million had died, and only 5% of the population had been vaccinated. Sadly, recent data show infection rates are only increasing. In response, UMCOR is working with long-term local partners to promote COVID-19-awareness campaigns, coordinate volunteers, facilitate vaccination sites in rural areas, and outfit COVID-19 patient care centers with bedside ventilators and hospital beds. Teams have also distributed hygiene kits and cash assistance to nearly 4,500 households to help families meet basic needs for food and sanitation. A recent lockdown in the Philippines disrupted work for 10 million Filipinos, and underemployment and COVID-19 counts continue to spike. Nearly 8 million households are undernourished and 2.2 million have experienced severe hunger. With the help of people like you, UMCOR and its partners have been supplying technical assistance, food, and hygiene items to enhance the impact of local pantries providing emergency relief. Since the military government’s takeover of Myanmar in February, one million people require humanitarian aid and another one million Myanmar Rohingya refugees have been displaced to neighboring Bangladesh. To address the COVID-19 cases escalating amid the turmoil, UMCOR is partnering with the Methodist Church of Low-

er Myanmar to provide food rations, emergency cash assistance, and medical care for vulnerable households. In Bangladesh, rising COVID-19 cases and ensuing lockdowns have severely impeded the earning potential of daily wage earners like rickshaw drivers, couriers, small-time vendors, and other service providers. Recently UMCOR provided food and hygiene kits for nearly 400 households in Dhaka who rely on daily wages. An extensive lockdown in Nepal’s Kathmandu Valley was accompanied by shortages in vaccines, oxygen, testing supplies, and critical care medicine, leaving nearly 5 million people in dire need. Working with local partners, UMCOR is assisting government health care centers in procuring essential supplies and providing rural families with in-kind livelihood recovery support.

While weakening health systems in high-resource countries, the coronavirus pandemic has decimated the already meager resources of developing nations along with their ability to combat new surges of the devastating disease. Respond Today. Point your phone’s camera and help us prepare and respond quickly when disasters happen.

In Sri Lanka, UMCOR partners helped provide critical hygiene and psychosocial support to 1,000 children in orphanages struggling with the additional stressors of pandemic-related lockdowns.

Be There Today for Those in Need Your gifts allow UMCOR to remain a committed partner in the global fight against COVID-19. Please give today to help our partners in under-resourced countries rise above the crippling effects of this pandemic.

UMCOR: Serving Others with Compassion and Care for more than 80 Years

“For me, the work of UMCOR is a human face. It is expressed in the eyes of a child receiving a cup of porridge in Ethiopia…the look of amazement and joy as a family watches water gush from a deep well in the Senegal desert…non-literate women gathered around a kerosene lamp in Nepal learning to read and write. UMCOR is the love expressed in the smile of a mother as her severely malnourished child starts eating again, and the song of laughter of men and women harvesting their vegetable fields in Kenya. Through all the tragedies in our world, UMCOR continues to have the respect and trust of the members of The United Methodist Church. And they respond, for they are the giving faces of UMCOR.” —Norma J. Kehrberg (1938-2019) Global Ministries Missionary & UMCOR Executive Director 1984-1991

UMCOR Is Local Your gift supports volunteers and local partners serving the specific needs of the most vulnerable people in your community. With UMCOR, you are a neighbor helping your local neighbors.

UMCOR Is Global Your gift supports an international network of organizations that extend the depth and breadth of UMCOR’s reach around the world. With UMCOR, you are a neighbor helping your global neighbors.

UMCOR Is Wherever You Are Your gift to UMCOR furthers the self-reliance, wellbeing, and resilience of families and communities in your neighborhood and around the world. You are there when you financially partner with UMCOR to alleviate the suffering of survivors who need it most, when they need it most.

Respond Today Point your phone’s camera and help us prepare and respond quickly when disasters happen.