Date: Wed, 20 Sep 95 11:50:42 EDT
Errors-To: disaster@vita.org
Reply-To: incident@lan.vita.org
Originator: appeal@vita.org
Sender: appeal@vita.org
From: Emergency Information Administrator
Subject: Appeal - Argentina: Hunger & Economic Crisis (CWS: 18-Sep-95)
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X-Comment: Emergency Situation Appeal
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ARGENTINA - HUNGER & ECONOMIC CRISIS
$63,000 APPEAL
Poor people require urgent relief
in the midst of emergency conditions
created by widespread unemployment.
100% of All Denominational Contributions
To Church World Service
Are Used to Assist Disaster Survivors
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CHURCH WORLD SERVICE
National Council of Churches of Christ
in the U.S.A.
32 Denominations & Communions
Working Together To Meet Human Need
475 Riverside Drive
New York, NY 10115
Disaster Bulletin No. 7635K
September 18, 1995
TO: CHURCH WORLD SERVICE CONSTITUENCY
FROM: Lawrence Turnipseed (signed 09-18-95)
RE: Argentina - Hunger & Economic Crisis
$63,000 Appeal
SITUATION: Thousands of Argentine people - many of
them Indigenous - are jobless and lack resources for
food and other essentials as a result of a prolonged
drought and government economic policies that are
aggravating conditions of the poor.
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In Argentine suburbs, 33.8 per cent of workers either
cannot find work or full employment. In the country's
northern Indigenous regions, the combined unemployment/
under-employment rate is 32.7 per cent. The nation's
overall unemployment rate has almost tripled to 18.6
per cent since 1992.
A three-month drought affecting the cotton harvest
around Puerta Negra, El Zanjon, Pozo del Toro, Lavalle,
Cabeza de Buey y Castelli severely reduced income of
Indigenous workers. In the area where malnutrition is
prevalent and the incidence of tuberculosis is five
times greater than the norm, they will not have the
resources for daily living until planting resumes in
December.
Social unrest is growing and for some, the drug trade,
prostitution, and robbery are the only alternatives for
survival.
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NEEDS: $63,000 for (1) emergency assistance including
purchase and distribution of basic food items
(2) agricultural development and (3) job-creation
programs
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CWS is responding through its Argentine partners -- the
United Mission Board (JUM) and the Argentine Federation
of Evangelical Churches (FAIE).
JUM - an ecumenical organization including Methodists,
Disciples, Reformed Waldensians, and Pentecostals - is
launching a $20,000 program among Indigenous people of
El Chaco that includes food assistance, development of
employment opportunities, and construction of a crop
irrigation system.
FAIE, including historic and Pentecostal churches in
Argentina, is implementing a $43,000 emergency
assistance program through local churches and community
committees. This will encompass distribution of basic
food stuffs (cooking oil, spaghetti, flour, milk, verba
mate, and rice) to vulnerable people - 2,000 children,
300 pregnant women, 200 older persons, 1,300 Indigenous
persons. FAIE will also seek to find longer-term
solutions, including employment opportunities, for
people receiving assistance.
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CHURCH WORLD SERVICE RESPONSE:
$63,000 APPEAL
- CWS is issuing this emergency appeal for $63,000
within the context of programs of its Argentine
partners to address humanitarian needs of people
affected by economic conditions in the country.
- CWS is sending $5,000 to United Mission Board (JUM)
and $3,000 to the Argentine Federation of Evangelical
Churches (FAIE) from its Rapid Response Fund to provide
immediate assistance to people in need.
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The need is urgent. Swift action is necessary.
Please send contributions through your communion/
denomination designated for this CWS emergency
appeal #7635K or to Church World Service, P.O. Box
968, Elkhart IN 46515. CWS uses 100 per cent of
all denominational contributions for assistance to
disaster survivors.
It is important to notify the CWS Emergency
response Office of any grants sent directly. When
sending funds directly, please notify the
recipient that your grant should be included in
reporting of total income figures for disaster
recovery.
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Call the NCCC/CWS HOTLINE for updates
1 800 456-1310.
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For further information about the emergency, contact
CWS Emergency Response at (212) 870-3151 or through
ECUNET to CWS DROFFICE. Call (800) 733-2863 to join
ECUNET.
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