Kahirapan

One of the marks of a Christian Methodist is a compassionate heart. With open hearts and open doors, let our churches be sanctuaries for battered and abused children and women. The perennial typhoons that enter the country usually passes thru, and worse bring devastation to many areas within the jurisdiction of DEA.

Let us invite and mobilize church members and other people in our communities into organized and efficient rescue and disaster response teams. Churches shall be encouraged to open their facilities and properties as evacuation centers/sites and be ready with first aid and survival kits. Districts or annual conferences can put up relief centers for easy management of collecting and distributing relief goods. It is also imperative for local church workers, District Superintendents, and lay leaders to be actively involved in disaster risk reduction management (DRRM) councils of local government units within their areas so that assistance can be easily facilitated, whether coming from the efforts of the church or going to church members who are survivors of disasters. In addition, serious efforts should be taken to form, train, and equip Disaster Response Teams in every local church. Such DRTs, members of which are ideally young, able-bodied, and with strong spirit of volunteerism, can be our very own Rescue Units—responding to natural and human-made crises in neighboring local churches or districts and communities.