CHURCH WORLD SERVICE
EMERGENCY RESPONSE OFFICE
34 Denominations & Communions Working Together to Meet Human Needs
DISASTER APPEAL:
EL Niño /LATIN AMERICA
Disaster Bulletin No. #976715 for $54,000
Signed by the Rev. Dr. Rodney Page, CWS Executive Director
Feb. 12, 1998
SUMMARY: Acting on behalf of
three local partners with long associations with Church World Service,
CWS is appealing for $54,000 to assist relief efforts in the wake of crippling
weather caused by the El Niño weather phenomenon.
SITUATION and RESPONSE: El Niño
is taking an unusually heavy toll on Latin America, with heavy rains and
flooding common in some areas, and drought in others. Bolivia, Ecuador
and Peru have been particularly hard hit. In Bolivia, for example, a state
of emergency was declared today after a mudslide, caused by torrential
rains, killed at least 40 people at a gold mine.
By country, here is a summary of recent
situations:
ECUADOR: Heavy and continuous
rains have caused major destruction in many provinces, with the coastal
provinces of Esmeralda, Guayas, Manabi, El Oro and Los Rios the worst affected.
Some are comparing the destruction to a war zone, with mudslides and flooded
rivers sweeping entire communities. In isolated, rural areas, a majority
of bridges, roads and sewers have been either destroyed or severely damaged.
The poor weather is believed responsible for at least 100 deaths.
Due to the destruction of crops, peasants
have been left with no means of subsistence -- the sole source of income
for nearly nine out of 10 families in the affected regions has been destroyed.
Compounding problems in rural areas are illnesses -- such as cholera, malaria,
typhoid fever, dengue, stomach ailments, diarrhea, parasites and respiratory
infections -- that are spreading at an alarming rate.
Working with other non-governmental
organizations (NGOs), the Network of Fellowship and Solidarity of Ecuador,
a small NGO that has worked on refugee and human rights issues, is working
to assist flooding victims. The Network has worked extensively with CWS
and with ecumenical groups in Ecuador. The organization has provided assistance
to 500 families and it has the capacity to assist 1,000 more. The Network
is requesting $30,000 to continue its relief efforts, needing funds to
help with food, kitchen utensils, medicines blankets, mattresses, mosquitoes
nets, water purification and fumigation products, materials for reconstruction
and tents for temporary shelters.
PERU: El Niño has particularly
affected coastal areas, river basins and mountainous areas and the Amazon
region. One such affected community is Catac, located in the Sierra
Norte region of Peru, which has experienced flooding due to its mountain
valley location.
The Project for Integral Development
(PRODEI), a grass-roots organization with a long history of working with
CWS, is requesting $10,000 to provide assistance to Catac and a number
of other communities, including some marginalized urban areas. CWS has
worked with PRODEI in the past in the development of programs that have
included assistance to children and the development of fish raising.
In Catac, PRODEI is building walls by
river banks to prevent water from causing further damage and is also continuing
to re-dig irrigation ditches damaged by floods. It is also cleaning sewage
and drainage systems and is working to reinforce a reservoir in a central
region.
In the rural Sierra Central region,
PRODEI is working with local communities to reconstruct homes and building
and reinforcing walls by river banks to prevent further flooding. In the
Carabayllo section of Lima, Prodei is working to assist with the
reconstruction of homes in marginalized areas that have been affected by
flooding and landslides
Part of the funding PRODEI is requesting
will be used to provide medicines for physical disorders caused by inclement
weather and the lack of clean running water. A total of 1,000 children
and adolescents will receive care in the communities of Sierra Central
and Sierra Norte. One hundred children living in the marginalized urban
community of Carabayllo will also receive treatment. PRODEI is also seeking
to provide 500 children with warm clothing and also help with food preparation
and assistance in a number of communities.
BOLIVIA: Besides facing flooding
and mudslides, other parts of Bolivia are suffering from drought. The
Center for Regional Studies for the Development of Tarija (CER-DET) is
focusing on recovering the productive capacity of the indigenous Guaranies
del Itika Guasu communities in the province of Tarija. CER-DET, another
rural-based development organization that has worked with CWS, will concentrate
efforts in 37 indigenous communities seriously affected by drought and
which face the threat of hunger.
Since October of 1997, the province
of O'Connor has experienced a prolonged period of drought that has wiped
out 90 percent of the region's primary crops, such as corn, peanuts and
beans. Corn is the main source of income and nutrition for these
indigenous communities. Besides the drought, the Pilcomayo River
was contaminated following a mine explosion in Potosi and fishing is no
longer possible in the area.
CER-DET is requesting $14,000 to buy
seeds, water pumps, farming tools. Part of these funds will be used
to buy soya and wheat flour to alleviate hunger in the region while the
long-term project is implemented.
NEEDS:
The Network of Fellowship and Solidarity is seeking $30,000
The Project for Integral Development (PRODEI) is requesting $10,000
CER-DET is requesting $14,000
Total amount requested from local partners:
$54,000
HOW TO HELP :
Please send contributions through your
communion/denomination designated for this CWS emergency appeal #976715
or to Church World Service, P.O. Box 968, Elkhart IN 46515. CWS uses 100
percent of all denominational contributions for assistance to disaster
survivors.
For further information about the situation
in Latin America and the effects of El Niño, contact CWS Emergency Response
at (212) 870-3151 or through e-mail to CWS=5FDROFFICE@ecunet.org
Call the CWS HOTLINE for updates: (800)
456-1310.
For further information about disasters
to which Church World Service is responding, contact CWS Emergency Response.
Telephone: (212) 870-3151
E-mail: CWS=5FDROFFICE.parti@ecunet.org
After-hours emergency pager: (800) 780-0853
Internet Web Site: http://www.ncccusa.org/CWS/emre