Emergency Response

November 21, 2007

According to Action by Churches Together (ACT),* initial reports indicate that at least 2,200 people have died as a result of Cyclone Sidr, which hit Bangladesh on November 15. (Others put the death toll at 3,100 and say it could rise to 10,000.) ACT, a global alliance of churches and related agencies, including the United Church, immediately began emergency support for more than 35,500 people in southern Bangladesh who suffered injury and lost their homes.

Sidr is the worst cyclone to hit Bangladesh, a country of 150 million, since a 1991 cyclone killed 139,000 people along the coast. ACT members in Bangladesh are assisting families through emergency food support including rice, beans, salt, and oil, as well as oral rehydration salts.

The initial assistance, supported by the ACT Rapid Response Fund, will ensure two meals a day for at least five days, targeting particularly vulnerable groups of people including widows, children, the elderly, the disabled, and those without land in the districts of Bagerhat, Barisal, Gopalganj, Khulna, and Madarapur. Over the next week, ACT will be assessing early recovery and rehabilitation needs and is planning to move directly into interventions likely including housing and livelihood support.

ACT’s Rapid Response Fund receives an annual allocation from the United Church. The United Church does not have partners in Bangladesh but is staying apprised of the situation on the ground through a regional partner and ACT.

What the United Church Is Doing

In addition to its support for the ACT Rapid Response Fund, the United Church will immediately contribute $5,000 from its Emergency Response Fund to Canadian Churches in Action (CCA). CCA is a group of Canadian churches, all members of the Canadian Foodgrains Bank (CFGB), that was formed in June 2007 to respond to non-food needs as a result of disasters. Several CCA members are pooling funds for disaster relief in Bangladesh that they hope will be matched by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). The United Church is also exploring how it might use its equity in the CFGB to assist the people of Bangladesh as they begin to reconstruct their lives.

How United Church Members Can Help

• Pray: Our thoughts and prayers go out to our sisters and brothers who have been affected by Cyclone Sidr.
• Donate: If you wish to make a donation, funds collected will be shared with ACT or partners in the region. Cheques and online donations should be made payable to The United Church of Canada and marked "Cyclone Sidr." The funds will be regarded as supragifts.

Please note: Supragifts cannot be counted as M&S Fund credits. However, they are eligible for tax receipts. Congregational treasurers may receive and receipt individual cheques and then forward one congregational cheque to the United Church.

For further information, please contact:

Bern Jagunos
Asia and the Pacific Regional Program Coordinator
Justice, Global and Ecumenical Relations
Tel: 416-231-7680 ext. 4077
Toll-free: 1-800-268-3781 ext. 4077
E-mail: Bern Jagunos