AT
HOME AND AROUND THE GLOBE
CONVOY OF HOPE STRETCHES TO MEET THE NEEDS OF THOSE AFFECTED BY
NATURAL DISASTERS
By Michael Ireland
Thursday, October 27, 2005
SPRINGFIELD,
MISSOURI (ANS) -- For nearly a year
Convoy of Hope (COH) has been assisting residents of Indonesia and Sri
Lanka affected by the December 26 earthquake and resulting tsunami,
first with immediate life-saving relief, then clothing and shelter.
Now the organization is helping build schools, community centers, and
permanent housing as well as establishing livelihood by providing
boats, tractors, and sewing machines.
More recently, as Hurricane Wilma scourged through the state of
Florida, Convoy of Hope was pre-staged in Central Florida and closely
tracking her path of destruction.
Working closely with FEMA, Convoy of Hope was the first operational
'point of distribution' in the state, providing relief supplies to Ft.
Lauderdale/Pompano Beach the day after Wilma hit land. As county
distribution points are established, FEMA has asked for Convoy of Hope
to relocate its effort to Clewiston, Florida, the area hardest hit by
Wilma in Lake Okeechobee.
COH partner Carl Miller is still working on Convoy of Hope's response
to Hurricane Stan in Mexico. He wasn't expecting another disaster to
hit his country so soon. He reports that roads to Cancun remain
impassable, preventing an immediate assessment, but a truck of relief
supplies is already loaded and ready for distribution to the area as
soon as entry is possible.
RESPONSE TO SOUTH ASIAN EARTHQUAKE
COH says that some observers believe the October 8 earthquake in
Afghanistan, India and Pakistan is even worse than last year's tsunami,
leaving millions homeless. The initial COH assessment team has just
returned from the area, where they provided tents and food in order to
meet immediate needs. Other relief supplies are also en route to an
overlooked and hard-to-reach area where people are in desperate need.
Convoy of Hope also sent four teams into Honduras, Guatemala, El
Salvador, and Mexico to do initial assessments of the damage from
Hurricane Stan as they delivered a first-round of relief supplies, food
and tents. Convoy has also provided a load of toys that the First Lady
of El Salvador distributed to children, praising Convoy of Hope "for
being there in time of great need."
Convoy has provided more than 22 million pounds of food to the Gulf
States in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
A newly established warehouse in Hammond, Louisiana, has helped the
organization work more efficiently. Working closely with volunteer
teams, cleanup and construction efforts are now underway all across the
hard hit Gulf area.
FAMINE IN NIGER
Convoy continues to provide food to the country that can't help itself:
Niger. More than 2.7 million people were starving after poor crop
harvests due to drought and locust infestation. Convoy of Hope has
provided emergency grain, donated by farmers in Virginia, bringing life
and hope to an otherwise desperate area.
"As a nation we have hoped and prayed that poverty and disasters be
eradicated. Yet the world has watched as unimaginable disasters have
redefined our sense of reality. No Hollywood producer could have
imagined the destruction we’ve all felt a part of this year," says an
e-mail ministry update from COH.
"As long as there is need, Convoy of Hope will be there."
Convoy of Hope is making a real, lasting difference for the victims of
each of these horrific disasters. If you would like to help in these
relief efforts, please visit their website, www.convoyofhope.org and
make a secure online donation.
CONVOY OF HOPE - 330 S. Patterson Ave. - Springfield, MO 65802
| ** Michael Ireland is
an international British freelance journalist. A former reporter with a
London newspaper, Michael is the Chief Correspondent for ASSIST News
Service of Garden Grove, California. Michael immigrated to the United
States in 1982 and became a US citizen in September, 1995. He is
married with two children. Michael has also been a frequent contributor
to UCB Europe, a British Christian radio station. |
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