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Methodist Relief and Development Fund
7 January 2011 Haitian Methodist President and Secretary to visit UK and Ireland - Haiti earthquake – one year on
The President and the Secretary of the Methodist Church in Haiti are set to visit the UK and Ireland a year following the earthquake that devastated their country.
President Revd Gesner Paul and Secretary Marco Depestre will travel to the UK and Ireland where they will update partners on the progress of the relief effort in Haiti. They will arrive on February 24th and leave on March 8th during which time they will meet with many people including Lord Leslie Griffiths, who was ordained in Haiti, Revd Tom Quenet and Rev Laurence Graham of the Methodist Church in Britain and Ireland.
The earthquake that rocked the island on 12 January 2010 killed 230,000 people and left one million people homeless. In the immediate aftermath of the disaster, The Methodist Church in Britain and the Methodist Relief and Development Fund launched relief appeals which have raised more than £918,000 to date. So far, £393,000 of this sum has been spent on Methodist Church in Haiti projects with further funds channelled through MRDF's emergency partner in the country.
Revd Tom Quenet, Partnership Coordinator for The Americas and The Caribbean, said: “We’re very much looking forward to Gesner Paul and Marco Depestre’s visit. They will be able to meet with Methodist Church leadership and other supporters in Britain who have been active in the relief effort.
“Recovery in Haiti has been painfully slow due to a complex interplay of factors, not least of which has been the political instability and insecurity facing Haitians and overseas workers. But progress has been made. The Methodist Church in Haiti has worked with many international partners to build schools and clinics in settlement camps, move people from tents into semi-permanent homes, rebuild schools and clinics and recover the church’s ability to provide long-term care and relief to Haitians under these very difficult circumstances. Most Haitian people are demonstrating their supreme dignity in the face of almost impossible circumstances.”
The relief effort has helped to provide shelter, water and sanitation, counselling and support an emergency agricultural project. A cholera epidemic, which has spread through all of Haiti’s ten regions, has affected more than 20,000 people, leaving more than 2,000 dead. One of MRDF’s partners in Haiti has carried out information campaigns warning people about the disease’s symptoms and has also distributed water treatment tablets, water cans and buckets.
Nick Burn, MRDF’s Programme Manager for Haiti, said: “The situation in Haiti remains critical. Daily life is extremely hard for the million Haitians living in tents, but the people I met showed dignity and resilience in adapting to the challenges they face. Our partners are working tirelessly to meet both immediate needs and provide long-term support for those affected by the disaster.”
13
August 2010 Nearly
£20,000 raised in a week from Methodist Pakistan appeal
An
appeal launched by the Methodist Relief and Development Fund (MRDF) has raised
nearly £20,000 in a week after devastating floods hit Pakistan. The
funds will help to support some of the people affected by the disaster, along
with a £15,000 grant sent by the World Mission Fund to the Peshawar Diocese.
The United Nations is warning of a second wave of death and disease and food
shortages. Over 1,600 people have already died and 14 million have been affected
by the flooding. Authorities
continue to evacuate people from their homes as heavy monsoon rains surge from
north-west Pakistan into the south. There are reports of 2,000 villages being
washed away in the Sindh province alone. Relief efforts have been hampered in
some areas as flood waters destroyed roads and bridges and caused huge areas of
forest to slide into villages, isolating thousands of survivors. Soldiers
and aid workers struggled to reach them as helicopters were grounded and had to
use donkeys to deliver vital aid to some regions. Speaking
of the deteriorating situation, Alla Calma, Deputy Director of Church World
Service Pakistan’s Disaster Management Programme, reported that: ‘While the
needs of affected people may be extensive, concerns about insufficient or no
access to healthcare and sanitation facilities are also increasing. The longer
people remain without shelter, food, and safe drinking water, the higher the
risks are for illness.’ Donations
to MRDF’s appeal are helping to provide food packages to families in the Swat
Valley and Kohistan Districts, some of the worst affected by the flooding. The
packages include flour, rice, cooking oil and pulses. Gifts will also help to
buy winterised tents and plastic sheets. Vulnerable families in the Swat Valley
and Mansehra Districts will have access to medical attention, thanks in part to
MRDF’s appeal. Three mobile health clinics have been set up in these areas.
MRDF is working through its emergency partner in the region, Action by Church
Together (ACT) International. The
grant sent by the World Mission Fund is supporting an emergency Relief and
Rescue programme for more than 1,300 families affected by the floods. The
Diocese of Peshawar is putting all its efforts into reaching those still
stranded by the floods and providing affected families with food. Steve
Pearce, World Church Partnership Coordinator, said: ‘It is difficult to
imagine suffering on this scale and in response we can only pray and support
those who are offering physical help. I know Methodists will do both
effectively. Our partner church in Peshawar is working with the Christian and
Hindu minorities as well as the Muslim majority in the region and keeping in
close contact with us. Please pray for Bishop Humphrey as he leads them.’ MRDF
Director Kirsty Smith said: ‘The torrential rains have had a catastrophic
effect on so many communities. It looks likely to affect even more people
in the long-term than those affected by the Asian tsunami. Our emergency fund
gives us – and the people who have donated to it – the opportunity to
provide swift and tangible assistance to people in the midst of this crisis. We
are very grateful to everyone who has given, and we intend to support as many
people as we can in the immediate and longer-term.’ To
donate to MRDF’s emergency fund, visit www.mrdf.org.uk,
or call 020
7224 4814 to give by debit or credit card or by a cheque made payable to 'MRDF
(Pakistan 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.
5
August 2010 Methodists
respond to Pakistan emergency
With
over 1,400 people dead and three million people affected after heavy flooding in
Pakistan, the Methodist Relief and Development Fund (MRDF) and the Methodist
Church are supporting efforts to help the survivors. There
are fears that the number of casualties and homeless will rise as rescuers gain
access to hard-to-reach areas where roads were destroyed. Initial aerial
pictures show that whole villages have been washed away. There are also concerns
that diseases such as cholera and diarrhoea will spread as there is a limited
supply of clean water. MRDF
has set up an emergency fund and donations will be channelled through
its partner Action by Churches Together (ACT) International, which is responding
to some of the immediate needs. This includes providing food and temporary
shelter to some of the most vulnerable communities, as well as setting up mobile
health clinics. In
an appeal for help, the Bishop of Peshawar, Rt Revd Humphrey Peters, said:
“The monsoon rains have caused havoc all over Pakistan, but the Khyber
Pakhtunkwa province has been hit hard by the floods. Thousands of villages are
under water and hundreds of people are either dead or missing. All road links
within the Province have been cut down, relief workers are trying to reach
through boats or on foot.” In
response the World Mission Fund has agreed to send an immediate grant of £15,000
to the Diocese, which has launched an emergency Relief and Rescue programme for
more than 1300 families affected by the floods. The Diocese is putting all its
efforts into reaching those still stranded by the floods and proving affected
families with food. World
Church Partnership Coordinator Steve Pearce said: “The Church of Pakistan,
which is a united church, is doing its utmost to minister to as many people as
it can. The Christian community is a small minority in Pakistan and is heartened
by our prompt support and most of all by our prayer. We ask people to pray for
all those affected by this disaster, for safety and for their needs to be
met.” A special prayer for use by churches and individuals is available online
here.
Simeon
Mitchell, MRDF’s Fundraising Director, said: “This is the worst flooding
Pakistan has experienced in over 70 years, and has affected a region already
dealing with poverty and conflict. The immediate priorities are getting people
to places of safety and trying to prevent the outbreak of waterborne diseases.
In the long term, restoring the communities and livelihoods swept away by the
floods will be a major challenge. Donations to our appeal will help alleviate
some of the suffering in the short term, and empower people to begin rebuilding
their lives.” To
donate to MRDF’s emergency fund, visit www.mrdf.org.uk,
or call 020
7224 4814 to give by debit or credit card or by a cheque made payable to 'MRDF
(Pakistan 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
5
July 2010 MRDF
LAUNCHES EMERGENCY APPEAL FOR
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