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Methodist
Relief and Development Fund
5
July 2010
MRDF
LAUNCHES EMERGENCY APPEAL FOR
WEST AFRICA
The
Methodist Relief and Development Fund (MRDF) has launched an urgent appeal for
West Africa
as millions of people face chronic food
shortages.
Poor
rainfall and failed harvests in the
Sahel
region of
West Africa
have left 10 million people vulnerable to
severe hunger.
Niger
– the poorest country in the world according
to the United Nations – has been worst hit, with almost 60% of the population
facing hunger this year. More than 1.5 million children are risk of becoming
malnourished unless urgent action is taken.
MRDF has
already allocated £20,000 to the crisis-hit countries, and is urging people to
donate to its emergency appeal so that it can reach more vulnerable people in
Niger
and other affected countries including
Mali
,
Burkina Faso
and
Mauritania
.
Yannick Milev, MRDF Programme
Manager for
West Africa
, recently returned from a visit to
Niger
. ‘Our partner in
Niger
was very distressed by the reports they were
receiving from the communities they work with,’ he said. ‘Entire villages
are emptying as people flee to areas where they think they might find food –
they either simply have no food, or cannot afford it. The price of rice has
doubled in some places. Not everyone can leave their villages, and some of the
people left behind have been forced to eat roots and leaves from trees.’
‘These reports are
shocking, but the important message is that we can make a huge difference to
many of the people affected by this crisis if we act quickly.’
Gifts
to MRDF’s appeal will provide emergency relief supplies to some of those
affected by the food crisis and will focus on helping communities to become more
resilient to drought in the future.
Donations
to MRDF can be made via www.mrdf.org.uk, by
calling 020
7224 4814 to give by debit or credit card or by cheque made payable to 'MRDF
(West Africa emergency)' and sent to MRDF, 25 Marylebone Road, London NW1 5JR.
Taxpayers
are encouraged to gift aid their donations where possible, adding 28p to every
pound they give, at no extra personal cost. Gift Aid envelopes for church
collections are available from MRDF.
For more
information on MRDF’s response to the
West Africa
food crisis visit www.mrdf.org.uk
Haiti:
More than £270,000 raised by Methodist appeals
Appeals
for Haiti launched by the Methodist Church and MRDF have raised more than £270,000.
Donations
to both MRDF and to the Church’s World Mission Fund are supporting the
emergency relief and long-term rehabilitation work being carried out by the
Methodist Church in Haiti. MRDF is also channelling funds to Action by Churches
Together. As well as funding food, blankets, tents and latrines, donations to
MRDF have helped to provide a water purification system in the Belair
neighbourhood of Port-au-Prince. This is providing 10,000 homeless Haitians with
crystal clear drinking water – the first clean water they have had since the
earthquake struck.
In
his Sunday sermon the Revd George Mulrain, President of the Methodist Church in
the Caribbean and the Americas, said “Our contribution to Haiti does not wait
until a disaster strikes. It is ongoing. Various agencies and organizations are
contributing to relief in Haiti, which is commendable. But soon the dust will
settle and the media folk will turn to another “breaking news story” as the
saga of Haiti recedes into the background. Not so with us as Methodists. We are
there to stay, because, our motive is not to make the news headlines. The love
of Christ constrains us and we stay.”
Simeon
Mitchell, MRDF’s Fundraising, Marketing and Campaigning Director, said: “Methodists
have once again responded with speed and generosity, and we are deeply grateful
for this support. In view of the widespread devastation and chaos, every
donation is significant. These gifts are enabling us to
alleviate some of the suffering in the short term, and empower people to begin
rebuilding their lives.”
As
of this morning, donations to the World Mission Fund have reached £161,000 with
the Methodist Church in Ireland contributing more than £25,000 to that total.
Donations to MRDF stand at £117,000.
The
Revd Tom Quenet, Methodist Partnership Coordinator for the Americas and the
Caribbean, is planning to visit Haiti later this month. “The figures that the
Methodist Church in Haiti has sent us represent a massive loss of the church’s
infrastructure to serve the men, women and children of Haiti,” he said. “The
destruction of schools mean that the effects of the earthquake will be felt by
many generations into the future, the loss of clinics means that lives will be
shortened for lack of health care, the destruction of child care facilities will
mean that children and young people will become vulnerable to exploitation and
abuse. The overwhelmingly generous response of the Methodist people means that
not only are people receiving water, food and shelter in the immediate aftermath
of the earthquake, but also the Haitian church will be best ready to respond in
alleviating the long term consequences.”
People
can donate via the Methodist Church by visiting www.justgiving.com/Methodist-Church-Haiti-Appeal,
or sending a cheque payable to the World Mission Fund to
Dave Bennett, Fundraising Coordinator, at Methodist Church House, 25 Marylebone
Road, London, NW1 5JR. Postal donations should be labelled ‘Haiti Appeal’.
For further information visit www.methodist.org.uk
or contact Revd Tom Quenet on 020 7467 5160.
To
donate via MRDF, visit www.mrdf.org.uk
or call 020
7224 4814 to give by debit or credit card, or send a cheque made payable 'MRDF
(Haiti emergency)' and to MRDF, 25 Marylebone Road, London NW1 5JR.
____________________
Revd
Tom Quenet, Methodist Partnership Coordinator for the Americas and the
Caribbean, was due to be in Haiti when the earthquake struck. He tells of
how he heard of the tragedy and the work he has been engaged in since to
help with the relief effort.
(Listen
here)
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BOLTON
AND ROCHDALE METHODIST
DISTRICT