- It was NOT where I was, but they DID feel it.
- Everyone there that I know, and most of the folks that they know are safe.
- My immediate contacts suffered some property damage, but otherwise are fine.
- Two churches in their sphere of contacts DID lose buildings.
- We are pursuing options to best help our colleagues in Chile. Stay tuned for more details.
Wednesday, March 3
Some Chilean Photos
I have received lots of questions this week regarding the 8.8 earthquake in Chile. The short answers are as follows:
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3 comments:
Great pictures when were you there? Your looking well. Say hi to the family for me.
bluejay
Charlie, with regard to pursuing options to best help your collegues in Chile, may I suggest an option you might not have considered: UMCOR. Yes, that UM in the name stands for United Methodist, specifically the United Methodist Committee on Relief. But the relief they are providing is far more than just going to Metodists. In a 3/4/10 conversation with one of our missionaries, I just bluntly asked her if there weren't some local cases where, good as UMCOR as a general rule is (for instance 100% goes to relief efforts, not one penny is used for administration), whether it might still be better to give aid directly? This was her response:
"Actually the Methodist church is working with an ecumenical group in Chile and all the donated funds through UMCOR are going to the church for emergency distribution. If a nonecumenical group or individual is needing funds or help that the government or this group dont supply then yes, possibly. But unless you have direct contact and actually know that, I would think it would be more timely and useful to donate through UMCOR. Tsunami relief efforts through UMCOR in Indonesia are just now ending, and that occured years ago."
So, if you're just trying to respond to the overall emergency situation, and the large scale relief and recovery efforts, UMCOR really is about as good as it gets.
Of course, having personal contacts in Chile we will hear about specific local needs as well. I plan on responding to them too, but am waiting till my friends have been able to assess what those needs are and begin to make specific requests that I really can respond to directly.
--Gene Ramsey
Thanks for the suggestion, Gene! Good information to have at hand.
Valerie, I was in Chile January 21 - February 9. Talk to my mom about when I will be home later this year. I will be bringing my pictures and stories to share!
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