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Haiti Earthquake Relief

UMCOR Advance for Haiti
The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) has established a special fund for Haiti Earthquake Relief.  Checks can be made payable to your local church with "UMCOR" in the memo line and placed in the church’s offering plate.  The churches can then make one check payable to the Kansas West Conference with "Haiti Earthquake Relief", #202, clearly marked in the memo line and send it to the conference office.

Online donations can be made at: http://secure.gbgm-umc.org/donations/umcor/donate.cfm?id=3018760&code=418325.

Please check out UMCOR's web site for current information about Haiti and the UMCOR response:

http://new.gbgm-umc.org/umcor/work/emergencies/ongoing/haitiearthquake/

Future Haiti Teams
There will be a great need for volunteers to help rebuild for many years to come. UMCOR has sent a team to Haiti and they are assessing the relief needs and are developing a plan for future VIM teams. A special disaster specific training is being developed by the KS West Conference for Haiti Response teams. Global Ministries will advise the jurisdictional and conference coordinators when our volunteers have permission to go.There will be specific requirements that must be met to be invited to serve on a team. No teams will be formed or sent to Haiti until they have been invited into the country to respond.

National volunteer database
Volunteers In Mission, the General Board of Glboal Ministries and the United Methodist Committee on Relief have worked together to launch a national Volunteer Database for volunteers wishing to go to Haiti. People who are interested in serving in Haiti, please go to the following website www.umrespond.org/Haiti  to register in the national United Methodist database. This will readily identify experience/ skills when forming future VIM medical, clean-up, repair/construction teams to Haiti as well as language skills in French or Creole.

****NEW TEAM INFORMATION****
Teams will help with rubble removal/deconstruction, medical assessments and vacation bible schools. The schools are closed due to building damage. Building engineers are reviewing building standards for the best possible way to rebuild as needed by the Haitian people. The goal is to work with the people of Haiti and to help them with their needs as they see the need.
 
In the planning of your teams please remember these please remember these qualifications
 
1.      All UMVIM teams must sign their team up through the US Haiti Calendaring Coordinator. The US calendaring coordinator will determine the location of where teams will work. Your location will be different due to circumstances.
2.      All teams will work on projects which are the priority of the Methodist Church of Haiti.
3.      Your team leader must have current team leader training.
4.       Your leader must have been to Haiti prior to the earthquake January 12, 2010
5.      Teams are to consist of no more than 12 members
6.      Teams must purchase accident insurance
7.      Teams will be required to have all immunizations up to date
8.      It is highly suggested each team have at least one medical person as a part of their team. Some locations will be at least an hour away from hospital care. With more medical persons on a team they can assist in medical assessments in the communities where the teams will be working.
9.      Estimated cost of mission is about $50.00 per day plus airfare or about $1500.00 per person. This will be your transportation to Haiti, food, housing and in country transportation
10. Each team will be expected to raise $ 3,500-5000 in project money. This amount will be matched by UMCOR up to $5000.
11. At this point and time there are only two flights a day into Port au Prince. All teams are required to enter and leave through this city.
 
More information will be forthcoming as it becomes available. Thank you again for your patience as we proceed to have this recovery work goes as smoothly as possible.

 

Birthing and Layette Kits Needed

Even before the 7.0 earthquake rocked Haiti last month many Haitian mothers lacked swaddling clothes in which to wrap their newborns. In the days since the disaster, babies have been born amid rubble, in field hospitals and in rudimentary shelters, and surviving parents are even less likely to have clean clothes and diapers to welcome them.

Putting together Birthing or Layette kits is another way your church, school or community can help Haiti at this critical time. Please remember that you will be responsible to ship the kits to UMCOR/Sager-Brown in Baldwin, LA.

For information about what the Birthing Kits contain: http://new.gbgm-umc.org/umcor/getconnected/supplies/birthingkit

Please check UMCOR's website for a list of what is included in the Layette Kit. http://new.gbgm-umc.org/umcor/getconnected/supplies/layette-kit/

In the future, School Kits will probably also be needed: http://new.gbgm-umc.org./umcor/getconnected/supplies/school-kit

Worship resources from GBOD and UMCOR
A bulletin insert for the Haiti disaster is located the right side of this page: http://new.gbgm-umc.org/umcor/work/emergencies/ongoing/haitiearthquake/ on the UMCOR Web site.

Dean McIntyre at the General Board of Discipleship is compiling a growing list of resources for worship related to the Haiti disaster. The resources are available at http://www.gbod.org/worship/default.asp?loc_id=739,1112,1198&act=nav_loc.

Music video on Haiti emergency available
A music video, “Haiti, We Will Rise,” with information about donating to the UMCOR Advance is available at http://bit.ly/68ulGP.

Haiti Earthquake news
The latest news and information about the United Methodist response to the Haiti Earthquake can be found online at www.umc.org/haiti. This link provides all of the most up-to-date national and conference-wide news, blogs, video and audio stories from within the United Methodist Church. In addition, customizable print ads, web graphics, and other resources are available for downloading.

Resources to help children cope after witnessing disaster from GBOD and UMCOR?
Here are some resources for the churches in your conferences that will help leaders and parents help children navigate the images they are seeing in Haiti.  http://blogs.gbod.org/younger_children/helping-children-cope-in-the-aftermath-of-disasters/