UMCOR Field Offices
When there is a need for UMCOR to establish a long-term presence in a particular area, UMCOR does that through its non-governmental organization unit, UMCOR NGO. These field offices provide a center for establishing long-term relief and transitional development to assist entire communities in the wake of natural and human made disasters. All contributions to UMCOR field offices are processed through these emergency advances.
AFRICA & CARIBBEAN
Democratic Republic of Congo Emergency - Advance #198400Haiti Emergency - Advance #418325Liberia Emergency - Advance #150300Sudan Emergency - Advance #184385
EUROPE & ASIA
Afghanistan Emergency - Advance #602225Albania Emergency - Advance #38235Armenia Emergency - Advance #250225Azerbaijan Emergency - Advance #250135Georgia Emergency - Advance #250305Indonesia Emergency - Advance #274305Sri Lanka Emergency - Advance #274305
AFRICA & CARIBBEAN
Democratic Republic of Congo Emergency - Advance #198400
Years of a multi-sided war have ravaged the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The conflicts have caused many people to leave their homes to seek safety in other areas. The UN estimates that in all, 2.3 million people are displaced by the war. The United Methodist Church has a long and far-reaching presence in the DRC. In 2002 UMCOR established a field office in the southeastern province of Katanga in response to the civil crisis.
UMCOR DRC works to maintain food security, teaching people new agricultural methods and other ways to more efficiently procure food. Another priority is education. UMCOR is specifically helping girls to receive an education through a girl's empowerment program. UMCOR continues to find new ways to meet the needs of the underserved population in DRC. UMCOR is seeking funding to expand its important work in DRC.
Haiti Emergency - Advance #418325
In September 2004, North Haiti was devastated by the high winds and heavy rains from Hurricane Jeanne. The resulting floods caused incalculable loss of human life and destruction to the economic basis of thousands of farmers, stock breeders and traders. More than 3,000 people were killed with the majority of them in the port city of Gonaïves. The storm left nearly 30,000 people without homes. Flooding produced rockslides and left mud up to two feet thick in the hardest hit areas.
UMCOR Haiti is rebuilding and repairing the lives of those affected by Hurricane Jeanne. The program focuses on repairing and rehabilitating homes, conflict resolution, reviving economic activities and income generation. More than 10,000 women, children, and men in the Cap Haitien area are the beneficiaries of this program. UMCOR pays special attention to rebuilding grassroots organizations in the area, particularly the Committee on Development of the Methodist Church of Haiti.
Liberia Emergency - Advance #150300
UMCOR NGO opened its field office in Liberia in 1996 following a seven-year civil war. Since its establishment, UMCOR Liberia has provided emergency-related and post-crisis assistance to those most in need. Program activities aimed at improving the lives of the Liberian people consist of agriculture, water, sanitation, education, training, and healthcare. In addition the programs are directed at supporting the peace process; consequently child soldier reintegration programs help the nation's young people learn marketable skills and pave the way for them to be contributing members of their communities.
Sudan Emergency - Advance #184385
Conflict in the western part of Sudan, known as Darfur, has occurred since 2003. At least 2 million people have fled their homes and villages to seek shelter in camps in and around Darfur's larger towns. The influx of people seeking safety in the towns has lead to overcrowding and a depletion of the already-meager resources. To aggravate matters further, Sudan is experiencing a drought. The people who fled their villages worked mainly in agriculture, drastically reducing the number of farmers and food production in the area. The UN expects that Darfur will have to depend heavily on food aid until farmers can safely return to plant and harvest their crops.
Most agencies presently in Sudan are focused on life-saving relief and intervention. There is still a significant need for these activities in the area as peace and stability is slowly restored to Darfur. The people of Darfur will need continuing assistance in reestablishing a normal way of life. As a result, the primary focus of UMCOR's intervention in Southern Darfur will be non-food item distribution (cooking utensils, tarpaulins, etc.), small-scale livelihoods and agriculture.
EUROPE & ASIA
Afghanistan Emergency - Advance #602225
More than two decades of war, ethnic conflict, repressive regimes, drought, famine, and earthquakes have forced millions of people to seek refuge in neighboring countries or to be displaced within their own country. Following the demise of the repressive rule of the Taliban, refugees and internally displaced persons gave a vote of confidence with their feet by returning to devastated communities in numbers that doubled expectations. They showed faith in Afghanistan's future by returning to start a new life in what are now damaged or destroyed villages and towns. The influx of returnees and the long history of conflict means that the nation is in need of basic assistance for its people such as shelter and clean water.
Through mostly United Methodist gifts, UMCOR Afghanistan is able to start programs that help refugees return to their home, build shelters and schools for the returnees, initiate income generating projects, and reach out to women and children who, under the Taliban, were cut off from society and education. UMCOR Afghanistan works in Kabul, Logar, Paktya and Parwan provinces. UMCOR plans to extend to other regions and is seeking funding to do so.
Albania Emergency - Advance #38235
Albania became a communist state following the Second World War and subsequently followed a policy of strict isolationism. It emerged from decades of communist rule in the early 1990s and a multiparty democracy was established. The transition process has proven difficult. Corruption is rife and the problems numerous with high unemployment, the collapse of multiple fraudulent pyramid investment schemes, outdated and poorly functioning infrastructure, widespread organised crime, an influx of refugees from the conflict in Kosovo, and a confused political climate.
UMCOR Albania is currently implementing an agricultural development program, funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The initial agriculture program equipped farmers to revive the sunflower growing industry in the area. UMCOR is also looking to extend its work into other areas and is seeking the funding to do so.
Armenia Emergency - Advance #250225
In the aftermath of a massive earthquake that killed more than 25,000 people in 1988, a three year war with Azerbaijan, and the economic collapse from the dissolution of the Soviet Union, UMCOR NGO established offices in Armenia to relieve the suffering of the people there.
Initially the office focused on distributing pharmaceuticals to health institutions and clinics. Gradually the organization expanded its programs to include economic development, agriculture, anti-trafficking, health and nutrition programs.
Azerbaijan Emergency - Advance #250135
Azerbaijan suffered a similar economic fate as several other former Soviet states. The country is plagued by unemployment, a collapsed economy, and an estimated 800,000 internally displaced persons resulting from a three year war with Armenia. Azerbaijan is also facing an influx of asylum seekers and refugees from Chechnya and Afghanistan who are looking for safety and security.
Most Chechens and Afghans arrive with few resources and those they have are usually depleted shortly after arrival. They are unable to access the public health system, find shelter, or provide food for themselves and their families. This is one area in which UMCOR NGO is working to alleviate suffering in Azerbaijan. Programs are focused on providing health care and seek to help the most vulnerable people in the area: the internally displaced, the institutionalized, the refugee and the asylum seeker.
Georgia Emergency - Advance #250305
Georgia has faced many difficulties since gaining independence in 1991. Separatist movements in three regions resulted in the internal displacement of nearly 300,000 people. This and the dramatic collapse of Georgia's economy after the dissolution of the Soviet Union resulted in civil unrest, widespread unemployment and significant increases in maternal and infant mortality as people struggled to survive. UMCOR NGO began working in Georgia in 1993 to address the needs of women and children. They provide essential medicines and treatment practices aimed at combating the most common and preventable illnesses facing this group.
Since its inception, the field office's work has expanded to include a number of transitional development projects throughout the country. The current programs focus on providing economic opportunity, conflict transformation/education, health, infrastructure, and humanitarian response.
Indonesia Emergency - Advance #274305
On December 26, 2004, the massive earthquake that struck off the coast of Sumatra created a tsunami that left upwards of 200,000 people dead or missing and at least 1 million more displaced. The waves left coastal swathes completely destroyed to depths of three miles in countries on all sides of the Indian Ocean. It is estimated that 150,000 people in Indonesia are dead or missing as a result of the tsunami. More than a half million people in Indonesia alone were displaced by the disaster. In the months that followed the tsunami, additional earthquakes shook Indonesia adding to the already-catastrophic destruction and loss of life.
UMCOR Indonesia is working to provide emergency relief and rehabilitation in partnership with the Methodist Church of Indonesia. UMCOR Indonesia is planning to reconstruct homes for 1,000 families, giving priority to those who are most vulnerable such as single-headed households, families taking in orphaned children, and other groups. Additional program objectives include providing safe water and sanitation facilities, income-generating opportunities, offers of assistance to communities not affected by the tsunami but located in close proximity, and building peace and reconciliation within and between communities in the targeted area.
Sri Lanka Emergency - Advance #274305
On December 26, 2004, the massive earthquake that struck off the coast of Sumatra, Indonesia, created a tsunami that left upwards of 200,000 people dead or missing and at least 1 million more displaced. The waves left coastal swathes completely destroyed to depths of three miles in countries on all sides of the Indian Ocean. It is estimated that 35,000 people in Sri Lanka are dead or missing as a result of the tsunami. Just over a half million people in Sri Lanka alone were displaced by the disaster.
UMCOR Sri Lanka is working to provide emergency relief and rehabilitation in partnership with the Methodist Church of Sri Lanka. UMCOR Sri Lanka is planning to reconstruct houses for 1,000 families. Other objectives include providing safe water and sanitation facilities, income-generating opportunities, assistance to communities in close proximity to areas affected by the tsunami, and working toward peace and reconciliation within and between families in the targeted area.
