HOTLINE - week of August 25, 2008

Bombing and hostilities in and around the disputed region of South Ossetia, in the Republic of Georgia, has led to a humanitarian emergency. Tens of thousands of people are without homes, food, and other basics, and in need of immediate help. CWS is assisting displaced and refugee families in coalition with partners in the region

CWS is providing partner International Orthodox Christian Charities with a 40 ft. shipping container of material resources--CWS Blankets and Hygiene and Baby Kits--valued at $200,000. In addition, CWS is supporting the relief efforts of our local partners Tbilisi Youth House Foundation and Association Atinati.

CWS is helping partner the Russian Orthodox Church to provide shelter to displaced people in church-owned premises and supplying emergency items to those in need: Children's relief packages for 335 children under 5; personal hygiene kits to 805 displaced men and women, including 295 kits for women; household kits (bedding and clothing) to 240 displaced men and women; and food ration kits to 510 displaced men and women. The food ration kits include flour, sugar, buckwheat, rice, macaroni, vegetable oil, canned milk and tea.

The Georgian non-governmental organization Tbilisi Youth House Foundation is working to assist 500 Georgian internally displaced persons who are currently staying at a Tbilisi public school building--providing living essentials, recreational activities for children and youth, and counseling if needed. Association Atinati is working to provide living essentials to 25-30 families.

Contributions to the Emergency assistance to Georgian refugees and displaced persons may be made online.

Relief efforts continue in Myanmar, where Church World Service and local partners are working to help an estimated 116,000 people recover their lives and livelihoods, following the devastation of Cyclone Nargis.

In all, 20,073 farm families in 11 townships in the Irrawaddy Delta are receiving rice seed, fertilizer and other inputs--including power tillers, since many draft animals were killed in the storm--for paddy rice production. Each farm family is also receiving $20, to be used for hiring their landless neighbors as temporary agricultural workers.

Since the cyclone hit in May, CWS has worked in partnership to reach 572 villages, provide shelter tarpaulins for 41,374 households, distribute seeds and other items for farm households, and install 3,944 water baskets which initially benefited some 323,000 people—ultimately an estimated 980,000 people. CWS is now also focusing on providing water for additional communities, as well as further shelter assistance for families in need.

Contributions to this relief effort may be made online.

At three years after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, more than 640 families have moved back into their homes, thanks to a landmark partnership between CWS and Habitat for Humanity International.

Launched in 2006, the $3 million program has provided grants to homeowners for repair or rebuilding their damaged dwellings.

"As we went on in the process, we found the further out from the hurricane we got, the more complex the repairs to homes became," said CWS Emergency Response Associate Director Bonnie Vollmering.

CWS continues its work along the Gulf Coast, helping local long-term recovery groups it fostered before and immediately following the storms.

Monsoon flooding this month in the Rajanpur district of the eastern Pakistan state of Punjab has affected some 530,000 acres, about half of which is used for agricultural production. The flooding has damaged or destroyed more than 10,000 homes, according to CWS-Pakistan/Afghanistan and has disrupted the lives of some 375,547 people.

Flooding is adversely affecting access to safe drinking water, and stagnant water is increasing the risk for malaria, diarrhea and skin diseases, reports CWS staff.

CWS has conducted assessments and will respond to the emergency as appropriate.

Slow-moving Tropical Storm Fay has poured torrents of rain on Florida this past week, killing five people so far and causing serious flooding in many part of the state. Damages in Florida from Fay could run into the hundreds of millions of dollars, according to some estimates.

Among the hardest hit areas is Brevard County, which has more than 11,000 homes impacted by flood-sewage back up and water in homes.

CWS is in contact with state and denominational liaisons, as well as representatives from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, to determine what CWS resources may be needed in Florida.

Your prayers and support - and your participation in CROP WALKS and the TOOLS & BLANKETS Program - make possible these and other life sustaining programs. For information on how to get involved, please call your Church World Service/CROP Regional Office toll-free at 1-888-CWS-CROP, that's 1-888-297-2767.

For information about free loan videos, please call 1-800-297-1516, ext. 338, or e-mail us at: videos@churchworldservice.org.

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