... message from Barb Jones in response to Hurricane Katrina
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Disciples Volunteering
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Check
back for information from Disciples Volunteering about
work responses to Hurricane Katrina.
Meanwhile, the best action Disciples
can take now is cash donations to Week
of Compassion.
Find out why, read a story from Church
World Service.
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Barb Jones is regional minister for the Great River
Region (Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi.) Here's her report
on the situation in that region, where we can go for more
information (especially Disciples-related info) and advice
on what we can do.
Dear Disciples,
I know that everyone is hungry for information and anxious
to help with recovery and relief efforts. I won't make this
lengthy, but will give you an summary of where we are this
morning. I'm depending on pastors to share information with
congregations.
- NO ONE can get into the areas most devastated on the
gulf. Do not head down thinking you will be able to help
at this time. It is too soon.
- For immediate response think in terms of places hit
further north that are not flooded. Jackson, Mississippi
is being referred to by all my contacts as like "a
war zone" with storm damage. The kind of clean-up
work trip Disciples often do is needed in these areas.
- Send cash donations to Week of Compassion. They will
send to our office and we will disburse to families, clergy,
congregations within Great River Region. Same will be
true with Alabama and other regions affected. With electronic
banking it is a very quick way to get funds where they
need to go. For help with anything to do with Katrina,
anywhere needed, just put "Katrina" in the memo.
For help in specific areas, just note that such as "New
Orleans" I recommend "Katrina" to allow
the quickest flow of funds where they are needed.
- We have heard from pastors at Metairie, St. Charles
Ave, Covington, Gulfport, and the Vietnamese Alliance
church in N.O. We have not heard from pastors at Westside
CC in New Orleans, Pass Christian, Ocean Springs, Moss
Point, all on the coast. The pastors we have heard from
evacuated and will not be allowed in for some time. We
do not have word on the condition of the churches themselves
... still there? flooded? damaged? The pastors cannot
get in, nor can anyone else.
- Phone systems are still down, so there is no communication
by Internet, cell, or land-line.
- The flooding has created the worst case scenario that
was projected -- the water is contaminated with biological,
chemical and petroleum "stuff" along with raw
sewage and decomposing bodies.
- Johnny (Wray) and I will likely have a person in place
soon to be a hands-on disaster coordinator.
- Our Web site, www.grrcc.org,
is the place to go to report news, needs, offers of resources,
etc. In the next day or so I hope to have a form up to
help communicate with evacuees, families, etc. Just make
a bookmark to www.grrcc.org
and I'll be sure everything is easy to find from there.
If you have a desire to "hit the road and do something",
know that all of us feel that way. At this point you will
have to work through Red Cross and I recommend you do not
go into any community unless you are working through Red
Cross or another agency on the scene. FURTHER, you MUST
be self-sufficient.
- Do not count of finding water, power, showers, bathrooms,
place to stay.
- DO take WATER PURIFICATION filters with you, not water
filters. There is a difference between filter and purificaton.
Do some research on survival needs before you invite people
to go.
- Prepare to sleep in your own tents, vans, etc unless
you have made arrangements to stay in a church.
- Use 100 percent DEET, not skin so soft or the lighweight
bug spray. Johnsons' deep woods outdoor brand has 100
percent deet and that's what I use
- Realize that wildlife is upset. Potential for snakes
and alligators, but hey, no bears our mountain lions!
- Realize that a state of anarchy reigns in New Orleans
right now.
- Remember that we will have this disaster relief with
us for more than a YEAR. Think now about work trips for
winter and spring. Back in 1993 when the Mississippi flooded
in July (remember the General Assembly?) our church did
a work trip in OCTOBER and the town we went to had just
that day seen the water recede enough for us to go in.
For Katrina and Other Emergencies, Cash
Donations Counseled
August 30, 2005
NEW YORK—To help people affected by Hurricane Katrina,
go to your bank account, not your closet or food pantry,
counsels an organization which coordinates faith community
disaster response efforts.
"Cash is always preferred over material donations,"
says Linda Reed Brown, associate director of Emergency Response
at Church World Service (CWS), a New York-based humanitarian
and relief agency serving the U.S.
"With cash donations, organizations responding to
disasters can quickly acquire exactly what is needed based
on damage assessments," she explains. "Cash also
can purchase goods and services in the disaster-stricken
community and thus boost its economy at a critical time."
Material donations often aggravate the disaster, Brown
says. Sometimes, they aren't needed—usually the case
with clothing and food. Or they may be needed when they
are shipped, but not needed when they arrive at the disaster
site because needs change from day to day in the aftermath
of a disaster. And material donations, even if appropriate,
entail shipping, storage, sorting and distribution costs.
"In short, cash donations facilitate effective, efficient
use of disaster response resources in addressing needs,"
Brown summarizes. "Materials donations usually add
to the cost."
So to whom should you give your money? "Look to experienced
volunteer disaster response agencies first," Brown
advises, "one recognized for a particular role in disaster
response. They provide valuable assistance for people to
rebuild their lives physically and spiritually. Yet they're
often strapped for funds for these vital services."
CWS and its member communions work in long-term recovery,
focusing on the unmet needs not addressed by organizations
providing the initial response. Faith groups typically help
disaster survivors develop their own recovery plans and
work with them to get assistance they need to fully recover.
They also send volunteers to disaster sites to repair and
rebuild homes. Through CWS or individual denominations,
your money goes to work to support long-term rehabilitation.
For more information, write to request Disaster Response:
How You Can Make a Difference from Church World Service,
Suite 7, 475 Riverside Drive, New York, NY 10115.
