Dear UMCOR: letter from partner in Nicaragua

March 2020 | ATLANTA Dear UMCOR, This year, El Porvenir proudly celebrates its 30th anniversary. Since 1990, we have partnered with rural communities on 1,413 water, sanitation and hygiene education and reforestation projects that have benefited over 196,000 Nicaraguans, like Rosa Solís and her family in the story below. Thanks to your support, El Porvenir […]

80 years of UMCOR relief

Bishop Hector Ortiz shares his appreciation of UMCOR and its continued support for the people of Puerto Rico after the island was hit by two devastating hurricanes in 2017.

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Six Years, No Solution: A 500-Gallon Tank Carries Hope to West Virginia’s Forgotten

McDowell County is one of the poorest in the U.S., and the communities of Anawalt, Leckie and Gary are some of the hardest hit by the current six-year water crisis. All have Methodist churches that are part of the Welch Charge.

To ease the burden of residents who have to purchase many gallons of drinking water weekly, the Welch Charge contacted the West Virginia Conference Disaster Response Coordinator, Jim McCune, for help. McCune’s United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) connection put him in touch with Global Ministries’ Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) program. 

A WASH grant allowed them to obtain a 500-gallon “water buffalo.” The conference disaster response team arranged to fill the portable water buffalo from the Welch water system, the county seat of McDowell, and transport it to Gary, where residents have been supplied with refillable containers. Residents of all three towns can come to get water, and volunteers will also continue deliveries for those who need it. Meanwhile, residents, including church members, continue to advocate state and local officials for a permanent solution to their aging, compromised water infrastructure. Full Story