New Web Site Launched for United Methodist Churches Involved in the Nothing But Nets campaign

Announcing the new www.umc.org/nets Web site

‘Send a Net. Save a Life.’

Nothing But Nets is creating a buzz. It’s captivating United Methodists as a way to be involved with saving lives. Thousands of people have bought insecticide-treated bed nets at $10 a shot.

“The reaction to [Rick] Reilly's 815 words made clear that thousands of people were ready to help the million children dying unnecessarily each year of malaria. And so Nothing But Nets was born.” (UN Foundation Web site, www.unfoundation.org/malaria/)

The time is right to be involved. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has issued a challenge and they will match dollar for dollar donations up to $3 million. $2 million has already been raised and so $4 million is on its way to purchase bed nets, distribute them to families in Africa, and explain their use.

The campaign has everything we communicators love – theme, endorsements, storytelling, a way to make a difference, concrete outcomes, ease in communicating and getting involved, and a way for people to feel engaged, connected and doing the ‘right’ thing.

And it just got easier. We have four new things to announce.

1) WEB SITE. The new www.umc.org/nets site has been launched. Every local church needs to know about this site. For example, clicking ‘Find Tools and Resources’ reveals the Game Plan, a plethora of downloadable resources, including worship support, curriculum and publicity materials – as well as Talking Points for Youth.

Click on ‘Get Youth Involved’ and you will see explanations of youth events in 2007 and invitations to get hands-on with the campaign.

Anyone wanting to deepen their involvement with Nothing But Nets can develop a plan of action for adults or youth supported by the information and resources available on the new site. Good news for communicators: Downloadable graphics will be available on the site very soon. Keep checking back.

Send a net. Save a life. Nothing But Nets is becoming so big across the U.S. we urge you to put a link to www.umc.org/nets on your church's site as the source of information for persons in your congregation. NothingButNets.net Web banners are available for download (attached to this e-mail also).

2) GAME PLAN. In addition to being available on the new Web site, the Game Plan (also known as a toolkit) can be ordered for $15. The Game Plan has a sample T-shirt, a poster and a DVD that contains downloadable video, guidelines, sermon starters, curriculum, bulletin covers, drop-in ads, posters and more. It's packaged in a draw-string duffel bag.

Available via the Game Plan or from the Web site, T-shirts sell for $20, with $10 going to purchase a bed net. Coach cards (note cards) will sell for $10 and will be available soon.

An email order card for the Game Plan will be arriving soon so please watch for it.

3) 7 VILLAGES. We know people want to talk about their activities and to learn what others are doing. UMC.org offers a 7 Villages site (networking with others via the Internet) just for Nothing But Nets. We need someone to start a Village – so reach out and be among the first village builders. See www.7villages.com/nothingbutnets.

4) YOUTH REPORTERS. We are looking for youth to serve as reporters on the ground for youth activities so if you haven’t already done so, please send contacts we can work with to tap youth for this special assignment.

Missouri churches reach out to those suffering in Mozambique

A UMNS Report By Carol Kreamer*

Food arrives at Central United Methodist Church in Vilanculos for distribution to victims of Cyclone Favio, which struck the Mozambique coast Feb. 23. UMNS Web-only photos by Antonio Wilson.

It was still dark on the morning of Feb. 23 when Cyclone Favio slammed into the coast of Mozambique and ripped through the country.

At least nine United Methodist parsonages and church buildings were destroyed. The rains that followed the cyclone ruined every bit of food that was in storage. Even if one had money to purchase food, there was none to be bought.

A church-to-church relationship between United Methodist churches in Missouri and churches in Mozambique since 1998 has helped ease some of the suffering with an outpouring of money that has supplied food to thousands in the devastated area.

The Rev. Vitoria Mabote of remote Chibo United Methodist Church suffered two broken legs during the cyclone, but few lives were lost.

A Missouri Annual (regional) Conference meeting was under way when news about the storm arrived, and an offering of more than $1,300 was collected on the spot. The Rev. Carl Schenck, pastor of Manchester United Methodist Church, was in the meeting and promised to do a special offering that Sunday. Other pastors did likewise.

By the following Tuesday, officials with the Missouri Mozambique Initiative knew they would have more than $27,000 for immediate relief, including food. A convoy departed that week, buying food in the town of Massinga, just south of the devastated area.

Providing relief
The Rev. Zefanias "Zef" Chihulume, council on ministries director of the South Mozambique Conference, led the convoy, which made three trips to the Vilanculos area and four to the Inhassoro area. The convoy used church locations as distribution centers.

Those distribution centers on the first day were Central United Methodist Church, Aeroporto United Methodist Church, Chiruala United Methodist Church, Maxanisse United Methodist Church, and Mapinhane United Methodist Church in Vilanculos, according to Chihulume.

The Rev. Xavier Julio Murure, pastor of Mapinhane United Methodist Church, and the Rev. Zefanias Chihulume inspect the church's destroyed parsonage.

Up the coast in Inhassoro, the convoy distributed food at Inhassoro United Methodist Church, Pande United Methodist Church, Chibu United Methodist Church, Maimelane United Methodist Church and Nova Mambone United Methodist Church. While the churches were used as distribution centers, food was given to all people in the neighborhood, regardless of their religious affiliation.

Chihulume, who had just begun the third month of his job, said he was blessed to be able to do relief work in Vilanculos and Inhassoro. This was a time that he could visit with pastors and church members in the affected areas.

He met people who had gone four days without food and were living in tents donated by nongovernmental organizations. In total, Chihulume reported that he had $10,320 from the Missouri Conference for cyclone relief and 4,870 euros from the Germany Annual Conference for flood relief in the north along the Zambezi River.

Another convoy is planned for March 18, he said. It will take gifts collected from United Methodist churches in the three Maputo districts. Plans also call for purchasing more food and mosquito nets for Machuuquele, Nova Mambone, Aeroporto and Central United Methodist churches in Vilanculos.

In all of these churches, people are suffering, homeless and have no protection from mosquitoes, he said.

Visible signs of love
"We do not have enough words to express our gratitude for all the support that the United Methodist Church of Missouri is doing," said the Rev. Alberto Mutuque, Vilanculos District superintendent, after the distribution of food. "They give us all the support we needed even without knowing us physically. … These gifts are the visible sign of God's love to us through the people of Missouri."

"What kind of relationship is this that we have with the people of Missouri?" asked Amelina Vilanculos, widow of a United Methodist pastor. "I have noticed that even when our own government ignores us in this time of suffering, the Missouri people are there for us."

"The relationship between the conferences of the United Methodist churches in Missouri and the United Methodist Church in Mozambique dates back more than 20 years," said Chihulume.

"These words show that the relationship between Mozambique and Missouri conferences is bringing visible fruits that are making a difference in many people's lives. May God continue to empower us and strengthen this relationship."

*Kreamer is coordinator of the Mozambique Initiative of the United Methodist Missouri Annual (regional) conference.

United Methodist Bishops Putting Wallets to Work Preventing Malaria; Congregations Urged to Hold Special April 25 Services, Buy Bed Nets

HOUSTON – United Methodist bishops are putting their wallets to work in the fight to save lives by preventing malaria in Africa.

Bishop Janice Riggle Huie, president of the denomination’s Council of Bishops, is urging United Methodists and persons of good will to skip lunch on Africa Malaria Day, April 25, and use their lunch money to buy a lifesaving bed net.

“Malaria kills a child every 30 seconds in Africa,” the Houston-based Huie said. “Bed nets are the most cost-effective way to protect children from the mosquitoes who carry this killer disease.

“This is an easy, tangible way to make a difference. Join me. I’m going to skip lunch and donate $10 to send a bed net,” Huie said. “Skip a lunch. Send a net. Save a life.”

The people of The United Methodist Church are a founding partner in the Nothing But Nets campaign. Other founding partners include the United Nations Foundation, the National Basketball Association’s NBA Cares, and Sports Illustrated.

Huie encouraged local churches to join this effort by holding a lunchtime worship service focusing on malaria on April 25. Rather than eating lunch, persons can donate $10 to buy a bed net. Every dollar given to the initiative is used to purchase and distribute bed nets for children in Africa. Downloadable resources including suggestions about how churches can get involved, graphics, and worship materials will be available at www.UMC.org/nets on or before March 20.

Each $10 donation will pay for the purchase and distribution of an insecticide-treated bed net to a family in Africa, as well as education about its use. A challenge grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will match contributions dollar for dollar up to $3 million.

“Nothing But Nets is a visible part of our long-term commitment to eliminate malaria,” Huie said. “Providing comprehensive health care to the developing nations of Africa is a long, difficult process. It will need to continue for generations.”

April 25 has been designated as Africa Malaria Day, and for the first time President George W. Bush has proclaimed the day as Malaria Awareness Day in the United States.

United Methodist bishops endorsed the Nothing But Nets initiative while meeting in Mozambique, East Africa last year.

“As bishops, we have a special place in our hearts for the children of Africa,” Huie said. “We are committed to doing everything we can to save lives while making disciples of Jesus Christ in Africa.” United Methodists have been in mission in Africa for more than 160 years, operating hospitals, clinics, schools and mission centers.

To learn how to make a donation, visit www.nothingbutnets.net or www.UMC.org/nets .

GIrls, grandmother make doll baskets for needy kids

By John Gordon*

Courtney Williams, 8, holds a doll that's ready for a needy child in Wichita, Kan. UMNS photos by John Gordon.

MARION, Kan. (UMNS) - Eight-year-old Courtney Williams carefully sifts through a collection of tiny clothes to match the red hair on a doll.

The doll is a gift - for someone that Courtney doesn't even know.

She and her 11-year-old sister, Becca, started a project to brighten other children's lives by making doll baskets for needy families in the Wichita area.

"A lot of kids, they always get a lot of stuff. And those other kids, they don't have much," says Courtney.

The idea came after members of their church, Aulne United Methodist, took a donation of clothing to United Methodist Urban Ministry in Wichita. As they were unpacking, they found a doll mixed in with the clothes.

"The doll was just a cloth body and had no clothes whatsoever," recalls Wanda Williams, the girls' grandmother. "There was a little 5-year-old girl there with her mother. … And she saw that (doll) and said, 'Oh, mother, can I have this?' And the lady from our church said she grabbed that doll and it seemed to be the first doll she'd had."

The story moved Becca, who decided other little girls like herself and Courtney should have a doll of their own - even if they do not have enough money to pay for toys.

With their new mission, the girls and their grandmother scour garage sales looking for new or gently used dolls, along with baskets to keep them in. Word of their effort has spread in the community, and friends have donated to the cause.

One neighbor offered them an entire doll collection. Another neighbor traveling in Kentucky brought back dolls from a thrift store. The owner of the store also asked for details on how she could start a similar ministry.

Each doll basket is made with caring hands.
"First, we get a basket and we try to match the doll to it," explains Courtney. "And we usually put a change of clothes with them and like a stuffed animal or toy. And then we put the blanket and the pillow in there."

Courtney and Becca choose the clothes themselves, as well as picking out the material to line the baskets, while their grandmother sews, cuts the material and helps the girls with a hot-glue gun.
"That's the fun part, listening to them decide what color and where it goes," says Wanda.

Together, they have made about 50 doll baskets in the past year. Most were given to the Wichita urban ministry program, which operates its free Klothes Kloset. Some were donated to a Christmas toy drive sponsored by the local chamber of commerce.

"I've always loved to see little kids' faces, that they're so happy and they get to have stuff that they don't normally get to have," says Becca.

Wanda, a school teacher, hopes the dolls provide comfort to vulnerable children. "Since I'm around school all the time and school children, I see a lot of … children who are angry," she says. "They haven't had the role models at home that they really needed. And they need love, too."

The doll basket recipients are not the only ones who benefit, however. It "feels really great" helping others, says Becca.

The ministry also allows Wanda and her granddaughters to spend more time together. Their work is spread out over a room at Wanda's farm home, not far from their church.

"She's fun," Courtney says of her grandmother. "We want to keep doing it as long as we can."
The feeling is mutual, and Wanda is proud of her granddaughters for caring about other children and their needs.

"As they grow into adulthood, I hope it's something they'll remember and pass on to their families," says Wanda. "It might not be making dolls, but any other opportunities that come along where they can help someone."

*Gordon is a freelance producer and writer based in Marshall, Texas.

New Connections for UMCOR and UMVIM

NEW YORK, March 7, 2007— A new road for working together was paved at the Feb. 8-10 conference between two ministry networks of The United Methodist Church. The United Methodist Committee on Relief domestic disaster response staff, annual conference disaster response coordinators and United Methodist Volunteers in Mission jurisdictional and annual conference coordinators met together for the first time at the Mt. Sequoyah Conference and Retreat Center outside of Fayetteville, Ark. “This was a landmark gathering,” said the Rev. Clinton Rabb, UMVIM executive. “This UMVIM-UMCOR consultation has been a “lessons learned” conference as well as a renewal of our common commitment to serve people and communities in the midst of disasters.”

UMVIM puts faith into action, challenging the church membership into service. UMCOR responds to disasters, helping annual conferences in their response which includes coordinating volunteers that come eager to help. During a disaster UMCOR and UMVIM would often run into each other. Over the last 10 years the number of volunteers has grown dramatically, especially in response to the hurricanes of 2004 and 2005. The challenges UMCOR and UMVIM face have grown as well. The Rev. Tom Hazelwood, UMCOR executive for domestic disaster response, challenged the conference participants to ask themselves, “How can we do disaster response together in a better way?”

In answer to his question two documents were born: “The Protocol for UMCOR/UMVIM Collaboration in US Disaster Response” and “Covenant of UMCOR and UMVIM in US Disaster Response.”

The protocol sets out how the groups will work together in the event of a disaster so that the incredible resource of volunteers is properly used to bring the best result for the survivors who most need assistance. The protocol will act as a compass for all involved in disaster response.

The covenant formalizes the bond the conference participants made. It will stand as a testimony and a reminder during the difficult times they will invariably face in upcoming disasters. This covenant to work together under the guidance of the Holy Spirit will uphold its signatories to a higher standard in their continued work together.

More about this groundbreaking conference is available on the UMVIM website at: http://new.gbgm-umc.org/about/us/mv/programs/disasterresponse/umcor-umvim-meeting/

Churches heal emotions after Alabama tornado

By Meredyth Earnest*

Rescue workers carry an injured teen from Enterprise (Ala.) High School where eight students were killed during a March 1 tornado. A UMNS photo by John Dean.

ENTERPRISE, Ala. (UMNS)-Within days after a powerful tornado roared through town killing nine people, including eight high school students, Enterprise First United Methodist Church welcomed hundreds of youth for a special worship service to remember their dead and injured classmates and begin the emotional process of healing.

Just down the road from Enterprise High School at St. Luke United Methodist Church, where the tornado knocked out a sanctuary wall, shattered windows and left a hole in the roof, members mobilized and opened a "comfort station" in the church parking lot to offer hot meals to storm victims, relief workers and school system employees on the job.

Recovery teams from the Alabama-West Florida Annual (regional) Conference arrived to help clean up, and the United Methodist Committee on Relief sent a $10,000 emergency grant.

"As all churches are, we're trying to reach out in our community and make sure that people's physical needs are met, but also their emotional needs as well," said the Rev. Gary Daniel, pastor of Enterprise First United Methodist Church.

The March 1 tornado ripped out a sanctuary wall and damaged the roof to St. Luke United Methodist Church in Enterprise. A UMNS photo by Meredyth Earnest.

Dozens of tornadoes bounced across Alabama, Georgia and Missouri on March 1, killing at least 20 people and causing millions of dollars in property damage. However, Enterprise became the focal point of the storm's fury when a tornado slammed into the high school building as 1,200 students huddled in interior hallways for safety. Five boys and three girls died as part of the building collapsed.

"It is the worst destruction I have seen from a tornado," said the Rev. Michael Lawler, pastor of First United Methodist Church in nearby Brundidge, which dispatched a work team to Enterprise the day after the tornado hit. "… All the news is showing is right around the high school, but so much more was destroyed, both in Enterprise and in other areas of the conference."

In Alabama, the hardest hit areas were Coffee and Wilcox counties, where Cliff Gaston, a member of Camden United Methodist Church, was among the dead.

The church responded to the devastation quickly at the local, conference and denominational levels.

Emotional worship services
Sunday morning services at Enterprise First United Methodist Church on March 4 were rich in emotion and well-attended. The membership includes the high school principal, several teachers and one girl who was trapped - and escaped from the rubble of Hallway 3, where the other students died.

"Needless to say, I didn't preach the sermon I had planned," said Daniel, who instead talked about the importance of grieving with each other with particular sensitivity to the families of those killed. "We need to be careful about throwing out phrases such as 'angels of protection' and 'I was really blessed.' We need to listen to our theological language through the ears of those who have lost so much," he said.

Later on Sunday, youth pastors of Enterprise United Methodist Church and Hillcrest Baptist Church "reached out to the kids in the community" with a special worship service that made school and private counselors available to teens and their families. Several hundred people attended.

"It was the first time since the tragedy that there had been a group gathering of the kids," said Daniel. "It was a moving and emotional time with lots of hugs. But the strength of the community was evident. There was the realization that what has happened has happened, and we cannot change it. But together, we're going to get through it."

In response, members of the United Methodist church youth group-out of school for at least a week because of the storm damage-pledged to spend each day cleaning out a home of someone in their community, instead of sitting home and anguishing over the tragedy. "Their spirit of service is a testament to the will of this community," said Daniel.

Comfort food
While St. Luke suffered serious damage to its sanctuary and parsonage and lost its bus and van in the tornado, the church opened a "comfort station" where members have provided hot meals to those in need and are helping in disaster relief.

"A few of our church members saw the need for this and began taking money out of their own pockets to do this," said the Rev. Glenn Butler, pastor of St. Luke United Methodist Church. "Our church may be damaged, but our ministry is not."

St. Luke held March 4 worship services at a local junior college and was making arrangements to meet elsewhere for at least six months during the repairs and reconstruction of its building.

Meanwhile, the buzz of chainsaws is steady while the sight of debris-moving equipment is common throughout the area. First United Methodist Church of Enterprise is serving as a Red Cross relief center, while First United Methodist Church of Abbeville, Ala., has become a Red Cross shelter.

"The people of the Alabama-West Florida Conference are already responding and recovery teams are on the ground assisting in cleanup efforts," said Bishop Larry M. Goodpaster. "I am thankful for the calls of support from other bishops and for the financial support and encouragement of the United Methodist Committee on Relief."

Representatives of UMCOR and Volunteers in Mission toured the area March 5-6 and began to map out strategies to assist with recovery and rebuilding.

First United Methodist church of Montgomery, Ala., sent trucks loaded with food and cleaning, health and baby supplies to Enterprise and Miller's Ferry.

"When we arrived at Enterprise First to unload the truck, the youth group was just returning from working all day on a home, yet they were still willing to help us unload the van and set up the distribution site," said the Rev. David Saliba, associate pastor of the Montgomery congregation.

People and churches within the Alabama-West Florida conference wanting to send a work team should call the conference disaster recovery office at (866) 340-1956 or e-mail disaster@awfumc.org.

Those outside the conference are asked to coordinate through the Southeastern Jurisdiction United Methodist Volunteers in Mission office in Atlanta at (404) 377-7424. Once in Enterprise, all volunteers must report to the Volunteer Reception Center at Christ the King Lutheran Church, 208 Watts Street, to register with local officials.

Georgia relief efforts
In Georgia, meanwhile, recovery efforts centered in Americus, about 120 miles south of Atlanta, where the same storm system killed two people and destroyed dozens of homes and businesses. In all nine people are confirmed dead in Georgia following the March 1 storms.

UMCOR also released a $10,000 emergency grant to the South Georgia Annual Conference to support its initial relief efforts.

Early response teams are encouraged to call the South Georgia Storm Recovery Call Center at First United Methodist Church in Americus, (229) 924-9414. Organizers say special needs include chainsaws, front-end loaders, bobcats or tractors with forks that can move large trees to the curb.

To contribute to UMCOR relief efforts, write "UMCOR Advance #901670, Domestic Disaster Response" on the memo line of your check and place in your church offering plate or mail to UMCOR, PO Box 9068, New York, NY 10087.

Another giving opportunity will take place March 18 in local United Methodist churches throughout the United States through the annual One Great Hour of Sharing offering. The money enables UMCOR to provide emergency relief to vulnerable people in tornado-ravaged areas and other communities around the world suffering from the effects of disaster, conflict or severe economic hardship. For more information and to order free resources for this March 18 observance, go to www.umc.org or www.umcgiving.org.

*Earnest is communications director for the Alabama-West Florida conference.

Tornado Recovery Begins--Your Help is Needed

NEW YORK, March 2, 2007—Dozens of tornadoes ripped though Missouri, Illinois, Alabama, Georgia and Florida over the last two days killing at least 20 people. Tom Hazelwood, United Methodist Committee on Relief’s domestic disaster response executive, is in touch with affected annual conferences and will visit Alabama March 6 to survey the damage and offer additional assistance. UMCOR has already released two emergency grants, one to the Georgia Annual Conference and one to Alabama-West Florida to support their initial response to this disaster. “We join with the religious and civic leaders of the affected communities in remembering the lives lost, those injured, and the families torn apart,” said R. Randy Day, General Secretary of the General Board of Global Ministries.

Two known churches were affected by these storms. One, in Enterprise, Ala., was across the street from the high school where eight students were killed by the tornado. UMCOR will continue to monitor the situation and offer any needed assistance to the annual conferences now recovering from these devastating tornadoes. As the storm system continues to move eastward, more violent weather is predicted.

How You Can Help
Cash gifts will help provide for recovery. Checks can be mailed to UMCOR PO Box 9068, New York, NY 10087. Write “UMCOR Advance #901670, Domestic Disaster Response,” on the memo line of your check. One hundred percent of every donation to any appeal, including appeals for Florida recovery, goes to support the designated program.

Letter from the Council of Bishops: Flooding in Mozambique

It is a difficult time in Mozambique. Flooding of the entire Zambezi River Valley in the northern part of the country was followed by a direct hit from Cyclone Favio in the southern part of Mozambique. The following emails were received from Mozambique regarding Cyclone Favio that made landfall in Mozambique last Wednesday night and tore up through the country on Thursday. Weather and news websites are listed below for tracking.

Especially pray for:

Vilanculos District along the coast – direct hit from Cyclone Favio
Central UMC – no details, church building in use as center for displaced persons
Aeroporto UMC – no details
Chiruala UMC – parsonage and chapel destroyed
Macunhe UMC – parsonage and chapel destroyed
Maxanisse UMC – parsonage and chapel destroyed
Mapinhane UMC – parsonage and chapel destroyed

Inhambane North District along the coast – just north of Vilanculos
Inhassoro UMC – parsonage and chapel destroyed
Nova Mambone UMC – located on coast, no details
Inhassoro UMC – parsonage and chapel destroyed

Machuuquele District
Central-Machuuquele UMC– parsonage and chapel destroyed
Chibo UMC - parsonage and chapel destroyed

Sofala District – recovery from flooding
No details available yet

Manica District in the southern parts – high winds
No details available yet

TeTe District – flooding along entire Zambezi River valley
TeTe UMC – not too bad according to DS Elias Pechicho Pfungo
Moatize UMC – not affected
Chitima – not bad
Nhandoa UMC
Songo UMC

Zambezia District – flooding along entire Zambezi River valley
Quelimane UMC – parsonage under water, lost all belongings
DS – parsonage flooded, lost all belongings

Visit http://allafrica.com/mozambique/newswire/ from Maputo, or www.alertnet.org (Reuters) or other news service for updates.

Also check at: http://www.wunderground.com/tropical/

In addition to greatly needed prayers... The General Board of Global Ministries has set up an Advance Special — Mozambique Emergency, Project number 156500: Emergency relief, rehabilitation for refugees, displaced persons and communities devastated by lack of food crops, clothing and household items.

Please consider a gift...


By Mail:
Make your check payable to ADVANCE GCFA. Write Mozambique Emergency and the Advance code number 156500 on the check. Send your check to:

Advance GCFA
P.O. Box 9068, GPO
New York, NY 10087-9068


By Phone:
Credit card gifts can be accepted by phone. The telephone number is (888) 252-6174


Online: use this link
http://secure.gbgm-umc.org/donations/advance/donate_details.cfm?ID=3018386

And remember: because your church apportionments paid for all administrative expenses, 100% of your gift will go to the Mozambique Emergency Fund, no matter which method you use.

UMCOR provides water through Humane Borders

A UMNS Report
By Valerie K. Thompson*
PHOENIX, Ariz. (UMNS)--From mid-January to May 1, economic desperation will drive more than a half million people across the Mexico border into the United States.
More than 300 of the immigrants will die from dehydration.

In response, the United Methodist Committee on Relief has donated more than $60,000 in the past year to Humane Borders Inc., a nonprofit organization providing humanitarian relief to thirsty people through more than 70 emergency water stations on and near the border.

"Humanitarian care for our brothers and sisters, who out of economic despair travel across our southern border, is the least we are called to do as Christians," said United Methodist Bishop Minerva Carcaño, Desert Southwest Conference.

"Humane Borders provides us the opportunity to live out our faith."

In early 2006, UMCOR granted $55,000 in response to an advance application submitted on behalf of Humane Borders by the St. Francis in the Foothills United Methodist Church in Tucson, Ariz.

"UMCOR decided to grant the funds because it assessed that the struggles and suffering of immigrants crossing our southern border was comparable to the level of such naturally occurring human disasters as hurricanes or earthquakes," said Carcaño.

"There was only one identifiable difference in that this situation is caused by economic disaster and has wreaked havoc and despair upon the lives of those forced to immigrate."

'I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink.'
The UMCOR funds enabled Humane Borders to purchase two new water trucks to service water stations daily during peak times.

The water stations can be a single 65-gallon barrel or up to half a dozen barrels. They are strategically placed along footpaths north of the border-on both federal land and private ranches-where deaths most frequently have been recorded.

Placing water stations on ranches cuts down on vandalism and also reduces the risk of migrants drinking unsafe water at cattle watering stations.

Between limited resources, the unforgiving terrain and the vast influx of migrants, the water trucks and stations are critical to decreasing the death toll from dehydration during warmer months, according to the Rev. Robin Hoover, pastor of Tucson's First Christian Church and president of Humane Borders Inc.

"Between January 15 and May 1, more people will successfully cross the Mexico-United States border than live in Tucson, Arizona, and the needs of these migrants are immense," Hoover said.

Blankets and health kits
Carcaño and two bishops from The United Methodist Church of Mexico visited the U.S.-Mexico border last December and requested additional aid from UMCOR for Humane Borders.

As a result, another $5,000 was donated to pay for disaster relief blankets and health kits. The health kits include toothpaste, soap and other hygiene items, along with first aid materials, all of which are sealed in zip-lock bags. The blankets and health kits are distributed to nine shelters along the border, and some are kept on the water trucks for needy migrants encountered in the desert.

All of the shelters rely on financial support and assistance from various organizations ranging from faith-based to private and public organizations. One shelter, Blessed Nuno Society, is a temporary orphanage housing children separated from their families as a direct result of migration. Casa Juan Bosco, another shelter benefiting from UMCOR's contribution, typically shelters more than 100 people a night.

"We in the Desert Southwest Conference are pleased to act as a conduit of United Methodist support for the work of Humane Borders," said Carcaño.

Rev. David McPherson, director of connectional ministries for the Desert Southwest Conference, is impressed with the efforts.

"It's great to see the United Methodist's connectional system working to help people who are caught in difficult economic and social systems," he said.

The United Methodist Church is the largest institutional supporter of Humane Borders.

*Thompson is the communications assistant editor for the Desert Southwest Conference.

United Methodists host Nets partners in Angola

A UMNS Report
By John Gordon*

LUANDA, Angola (UMNS)-While visiting hospitals and clinics filled with mothers cradling sick and dying children, professional basketball star Ruth Riley saw "what the face of malaria looks like."

Touring the African nation on a malaria observation trip hosted by the people of The United Methodist Church, the WNBA star urged people everywhere to support Nothing But Nets, a global campaign working to provide insecticide-treated bed nets to protect families against disease-carrying mosquitoes.

The nets cost $10 each, and 100 percent of each gift goes to the cost of buying and distributing them to families in underdeveloped nations such as Angola, where mosquitoes typically transmit malaria at night while people sleep. Health officials say the nets can reduce transmission by as much as 90 percent.

"I can tell you that the need is so great, and the contribution is so small," said Riley, who led Notre Dame and the Detroit Shock to collegiate and WNBA championship in 2001 and 2003 respectively, taking Most Valuable Player honors in both tournaments.

The 6-foot-5 center joined former NBA star Sam Perkins, NBA executive Brooks Meek, Elizabeth McKee of the United Nations Foundation and representatives of The United Methodist Church in the Jan. 27-31 tour.

The church, the U.N. Foundation and NBA Cares are partners in Nothing But Nets, which is taking aim at one of Africa's biggest killers of children. While malaria can be prevented, it kills some 800,000 African children each year.

Since its launch in 2006, the campaign has raised more than $4 million to buy and distribute more than 400,000 nets to families in Africa. The nets have gone to Mozambique thus far, and Angola is among 21 other African nations in need. Campaign organizers plan to distribute nets in those countries in partnership with their governments' ministers of health.

"The United Methodist Church, as a partner to Nothing But Nets, is very important," said Riley, citing "the community-based organizations they have here … and the relationship they have with their people."

The church's East Angola (Annual) Conference organized the hospital and clinic visits so the delegation could observe and speak with people first-hand about malaria.

"In the hospital we visited this morning, they said that they lose four to five children a day from malaria," said Riley.

McKee, who is director of marketing for the U.N. Foundation, said the trip allowed the group to see the "horrible effects" of malaria up close. "We saw anemia, cerebral malaria, babies with low immune systems who subsequently got HIV, mothers and fathers who are ill, and children who were orphaned when their parents died from malaria," she said.

The delegation met with health officials in Angola as well as officials at the U.S. embassy to learn about health-care challenges in the country.

Poverty and illiteracy are among the root problems, and malaria worsens them by overloading the health-care system and causing children to miss an average of 25 days of school a year. Angola has the second highest infant and maternal mortality rates in the world. Only 30 percent of the population has access to potable water and 60 percent of sanitary systems have been destroyed.

"Most of them, they live with at least two U.S. dollars a day," said United Methodist Bishop Gaspar Domingos of the Eastern Angola Conference. "Most of them, they don't care about how to protect against malaria because they want to eat."

Domingos said malaria is such a health problem that many Angolans contract it six or seven times a year.

Malaria has been brought under control and even eliminated in many parts of Asia, Europe and the Americas. Yet in Africa, with increasing drug resistance and struggling health systems, malaria infections have increased during the last three decades. The bed nets are a simple and cost-effective solution.

"On this trip, we learned the true importance of long-lasting, insecticide-treated nets," said McKee. "People are using the nets and stopping the mosquitoes that spread malaria. The real challenge is meeting the tremendous need for nets throughout Africa."

To send a net and save a life, visit Nothing But Nets (www.NothingButNets.net) or United Methodist Communications (www.umcom.org). United Methodists also can give through their churches by designating their gift for Advance #982015.

*Gordon is a freelance producer and writer based in Marshall, Texas.

Katrina Aid Today assists more than 108,000 Hurricane Katrina survivors

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Katrina Aid Today has assisted 40,000 families to date with the value of services the program’s partners have provided estimated at more than $20 million, according to a report on the progress of Katrina Aid Today.

“Reaching 108,000 people is a great milestone for us,” said Jim Cox, executive director of Katrina Aid Today. “But Katrina-affected families still need help, and we are expanding our outreach efforts across the country.”

Survivors who continue to need the most help are people whom the storm displaced from their homes, according to the report. Sixty-year-old Frances Roppolo, who relocated to Denver after the storm, is one example of how the Katrina Aid Today program is helping people recover from the storm. Her home in St. Bernard Parish, La., was flooded with 15 feet of water, sewage and waste from a nearby oil refinery for about three weeks. When the water finally receded everything in the parish was contaminated.

“We had nothing and no place to go home to,” she said, of her decision to move to Denver. “We got here and found an apartment, but we didn’t have anything else.”

Soon after relocating to Denver she reached out to Lutheran Family Services of Denver and was assigned a case manager, Nija Gilman. Lutheran Family Services is just one of 134 programs in 31 states that make up the Katrina Aid Today consortium.

Ms. Gilman helped Ms. Roppolo with rental assistance and assisted her in signing up for a Fannie Mae Foundation home. Fannie Mae Foundation has donated houses around the country. Qualifying families can live rent-free in those homes for 18 months.

Ms. Roppolo moved into her Fannie Mae house this past fall.

Katrina Aid Today plans to assist about 60,000 more Katrina-affected families over the next year, and is funded through a $66 million grant to United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) and monitored by FEMA.

Katrina Aid Today is a project of the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR). UMCOR is the humanitarian relief and development agency of the United Methodist Church, a worldwide denomination. Since 1940, UMCOR has provided practical support to survivors of natural and civil disasters to alleviate human suffering, without regard to a survivor’s religion, race, gender or national origin.