Flood of Disasters Keep CRWRC Busy

The Christian Reformed World Relief Committee is providing immediate, emergency aid in Asia in response to a sequence of catastrophic disasters that occurred over the last week.

There has been a typhoon and flooding in the Philippines and a large earthquake in Indonesia and a tsunami that hit American Samoa. CRWRC is helping all of these countries.

The Christian Reformed Church also has personnel from Christian Reformed World Missions who work in the Philippines and Indonesia. Two organizations, approved for denominational funding, are also at work in the Philippines and Indonesia. They are Partners Worldwide, which works to help people start and maintain businesses, and Worldwide Christian Schools, which supports Christian schools in these countries.

But CRWRC and its partners are doing the emergency and disaster relief in a variety of ways in these countries:

PHILIPPINES: With local churches, CRWRC is distributing food, water, blankets, and clothing to hundreds of Typhoon Ketsana survivors in settlements in and around Manila. CRWRC International Relief Managers will join development staff on the ground as soon as possible to assess needs for medical, rehabilitation, and livelihood interventions.

“Thousands of Philippine families have been severely affected by the storm,” says CRWRC staff, Lem Rosselon, from Manila. “People are in danger from the cold, from hunger, and from drowning and sickness. Many roads are still flooded, but we are able to intervene, doing what we can to help save lives.”

CRWRC is also monitoring the situation as Typhoon Parma heads toward Manila this weekend and may cause additional damage.

INDONESIA: CRWRC staff members Nick Armstrong and Mona Saroingsong are to meet with local partners in Padang, Sumatra, to organize emergency response to theSeptember 30th earthquake that caused extensive damage on the island. CRWRC has trained local congregations in disaster preparedness and response, allowing for quick distribution of food, water, and shelter when the quake hit.

With disaster experience in Padang in response to a March 2007 earthquake, CRWRC has been able to act quickly to meet the needs of survivors through its partners there. The organization is deploying International Relief Managers to Padang to work with local organizations to implement a response to this week’s devastation..

CRWRC will also likely be working on the Indonesian island of Java, Tasikmalaya, reconstructing houses after an earthquake hit there onSeptember 2, 2009, displacing 180,000 people. CRWRC previously worked on Java in 2006 when an earthquake destroyed most of Jogjakarta. The agency built 900 core houses in Jogjakarta at that time.

SAMOA: CRWRC Disaster Response Director Bill Adams is working with the Federal Emergency Management agency (FEMA) to provide skilled volunteers for rehabilitation and reconstruction on American Samoa, where an earthquake and resulting tsunami wreaked havoc onSeptember 29th. President Obama declared the U.S. Territory a federal disaster area yesterday, freeing up federal funding for disaster response there, and offering assistance as well to the nearby independent island of Samoa.

CRWRC is requesting financial donations to respond to destruction, loss, and devastation throughout Asia Pacific. Gifts can be made online at www.crwrc.org or by phone at 1-800-55-CRWRC. Checks designated “Philippines/Asia Floods 2009” can be mailed to CRWRC, 2850 Kalamazoo Avenue SE, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49560-0600.

To inquire about CRWRC Work Teams in the Philippines responding to flooding on Mindanao Island where CRWRC will build 15 homes in 12 months, go to www.crwrc.org/volunteer or email [email protected]. More information is available from Grace Wiebe, International Relief Project Manager, 1-800-334-2920 and Bill Adams, Disaster Response Services Director, 616-560-2782.

CRWRC is a non-profit agency of the Christian Reformed Church in North America ministering to people in need around the world with relief, development, and justice.

CRWM works to bring the message of the Gospel in a variety of ways to countries around the world. For more information on CRWM, visit, www.crwm.cfm .