The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) responds to dozens of unsung disasters every year. UMCOR is there even when the news cameras are not. Whether it is the South Asia tsunami or cholera in Cameroon or Ebola in West Africa, UMCOR is there: sowing seeds of hope and empowering communities to step forward to a new and better future.
When a natural or human-caused disaster strikes outside of the United States, UMCOR serves as the primary channel for United Methodist assistance. UMCOR cooperates with local bishops, district superintendents, and church leaders to help them develop their own response mechanisms. UMCOR trains disaster response coordinators for each district or region to:
1. Categorize disasters
2. Recognize common phases or stages of disasters
3. Balance needs vs. capacity to respond
4. Create a disaster-response plan
5. Use material resources and volunteers efficiently
6. Network with local and national partners
8. Adhere to Sphere Minimum Standards in Humanitarian Response & ICRC Humanitarian Code of Conduct
The coordinators use this information and training to network with other local groups and governments to respond to emergencies in their areas. This increases the capacity of local disaster response units.
Goals & Objectives
In the short term, UMCOR steps in to ease human suffering. In the long term, we work in accompaniment with local partners toward capacity building and Disaster Risk Reduction.
Even after the initial disaster is over, people are often endangered by future disasters. UMCOR's Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) program helps communities to identify vulnerabilities and attend to these before another disaster strikes. Training people what to do in a disaster is also a key step in reducing the damaging effects of future disasters.