Sending money is best way to help, relief agency says

 

 

 

United Methodist News Service
After seeing TV images of the death and destruction in the tsunami-ravaged countries of South Asia and Africa, many United Methodists feel the need to go and help.
Please don’t, United Methodist Committee on Relief officials said last week. Send money instead.
People in the 12 stricken countries are feeling the same need to help and are working to recover from the disaster, church officials said. And thousands of people who have been left homeless by the Dec. 26 tsunami need the jobs that the recovery will bring.
“What is inspiring to me is that the Methodists in all of these areas are on the front lines of response, and they are doing the same job we do when a disaster hits in the United States,” said the Rev. Kristin Sachen, head of the relief committee’s disaster response. “God is already present. We do not need to go there to make God present.”
Many skilled people, especially those with medical training, are asking about volunteer opportunities, she said.
“The truth of the matter is, if you did not have plans already in place before the disaster, it is too late to decide to go now,” Sachen said.
People who do travel to Asia and Africa need to get proper medical qualifications and figure out where to stay, she said.
“You need to think about whose space you will be taking if you go,” she said.
The relief committee is not equipped to deploy medical personnel as volunteers in an emergency, Sachen said.
“In the long-term recovery effort, there may be opportunities for volunteers,” she said. “We just can’t answer that right now.”
For now, the best way to help is to send a donation to the relief committee and stay home, she said.
In addition to volunteer interest, United Methodist relief officials have heard much concern about children left orphaned by the tsunami.
“The native people in these countries are very concerned about their children,” Sachen said. “They don’t want them taken out of the country.”
The relief committee has released the following statement about its efforts and needs:
“UMCOR is working closely with its partners, Churches Auxiliary for Social Action in India, Action by Churches Together in Indonesia and the Sri Lanka Council of Churches, to provide survivors with supplies, fresh water, medicines, temporary shelters and other necessities. Right now, thousands of local volunteers are assisting the Methodist churches there to be the heart and hands of United Methodists everywhere.
“The very best option for immediate participation is a gift of cash. That will assure that United Methodists will continue to have a strong presence through UMCOR’s work in the coming weeks as the recovery effort unfolds.”