In 2022, severe flooding ended the lives of more than 600 people and displaced 1.4 million in several regions of Nigeria. Not only did the floods submerge buildings, streets and farmland – some communities experienced an outbreak of cholera as floodwaters subsided.
In July of 2023, many of the people affected by the floods still hadn’t recovered. Bishop John Wesley Yohanna, Nigeria United Methodist Church, requested assistance from the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) because with UMCOR’s support, the church could supply food and replace lost household items for nearly 5,000 families, or 30,000 people, for three months. This would give them time to recover until the next harvest.
Your gifts on UMCOR Sunday helps support the foundation for the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) to share God’s love with communities everywhere.
Justina Ezekiel, one of the recipients of the relief supplies, said: “I was just thinking of what to cook for the children because we had exhausted the last grain. It is as if God showed you our predicaments because these items are truly going to bring relief to us.”
Did UMCOR receive gifts specifically designated for these catastrophic floods in Nigeria? Not one. But because of church communities, leaders and partners that span the world, targeted and effective training programs, and flexible Advance options, UMCOR has the unique ability to respond whenever disasters happen.
In John 17, Jesus prays for his disciples, the places they go and situations they encounter. “As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world,” he says in verse 18. He prays for their protection and steadfast commitment as they spread God’s love.
UMCOR is sent by the church to respond to humanitarian needs, regardless of the religion or faith of the populations affected, and its motivation is a spiritual and biblically based call to action.
As the war in Ukraine continues, short-term needs for emergency food, water and shelter have become long-term needs for more permanent shelter and reliable ways to get food to whichever population the war has displaced at the time.
While it is not possible for UMCOR to intervene in every refugee situation, it supports displaced populations in many places beyond Ukraine, such as Syria.
Other places where partners working directly with refugees receive UMCOR support are Honduras, Burundi, Mexico and Greece. In the United States, organizations working with refugees from California to New York, including Georgia, Illinois and Texas, are among those that receive UMCOR support.
Another multiplying factor that increases UMCOR’s ability to respond is training volunteers to respond effectively on the ground.
In Africa and the Philippines, UMCOR builds the capacity of local leaders to prepare for and respond to disaster through Disaster Management Offices. This connectional network across the church is one of the main reasons UMCOR has access to communities when disasters strike. A responding church or partner organization is already there.
In places like the Eastern Horn of Africa, where people in Somalia and Ethiopia have struggled through years of drought, unrest and severe food shortages, people migrate to find food for their families. UMCOR returns again and again to provide relief, even when the world’s attention is focused elsewhere.
United Methodists who mobilized in the 1990s in response to a volcano eruption in the Eastern Congo will remember the city of Goma. Today, it still hosts over half a million refugees, caught by violence between rebel attacks and government retaliation.
People generally associate tornadoes with the United States, and they designate millions of dollars to help communities recover from storms, tornadoes and hurricanes.
But in 2023, UMCOR responded to a request from Côte d’Ivoire after Zokolilié, a town of 12,000, was nearly wiped out by a tornado.
And, while typhoons are often associated with Asia and Africa, UMCOR also responded to a request by the Alaska Conference in the aftermath of Typhoon Merbok, which struck the town of Hooper Bay in September 2022.
Giving through UMCOR, Where Most Needed, Advance # 999895, means that neither UMCOR staff nor donors need to predict when typhoons will strike the U.S. or tornadoes the western coast of Africa. Whenever and wherever natural and humanmade disasters strike, UMCOR will be able to respond through nearby partners.
excerpt from a story by Christie R. House, consultant writer and editor with Global Ministries and UMCOR. Ezekiel Ibrahim, communicator for the Nigeria Episcopal Area, provided reporting from Nigeria.
One of six churchwide Special Sundays with offerings of The United Methodist Church, UMCOR Sunday calls United Methodists to share the goodness of life with those who hurt. Your gifts to UMCOR Sunday lay the foundation for the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) to share God’s love with communities everywhere. The special offering underwrites UMCOR’s “costs of doing business.” This helps UMCOR to keep the promise that 100 percent of any gift to a specific UMCOR project will go toward that project, not administrative costs.
When you give generously on UMCOR Sunday, you make a difference in the lives of people who hurt. Give now.
