£10,000 grant for Argentina flood recovery

The Methodist Church has agreed a grant of £10,000 to assisturgent recovery work following last month's torrentialflooding.

The floods, which hit the cities of Buenos Aires and La Plata on 2and 3 April, killed more than 50 people and left many homesinundated with up to two meters of water. Many thousands offamilies living in the poorest parts of both cities have been badlyaffected. The grant from the World Mission Fund has been sent tothe Methodist Church in Argentina (IEMA), which has a strongpresence in both cities.

IEMA Leader Bishop Frank de Nully Brown said: "The consequences ofthis disaster have affected the poorest families and those leastable to help themselves. We thank God for the solidarity and themutual love of our congregations that have allowed us to holdpeople who are in pain, despair and suffering, both the affected inour churches and our neighbours. This tragedy reminds us that weare vulnerable beyond our material securities. We continue torespond to the people living in the affected areas and thoseaffected by the longer lasting trauma that it has produced."

IEMA's children's home in La Plata was severely affected by thefloods. The home provides an extended social service to hundreds offamilies around it, and support for hundreds of street childrenwhose lives have now been made more precarious by the floods.

The money from the World Mission Fund will be used to purchasefurniture and equipment that has been lost and enable the immediaterecovery of the services offered by the home.

"The Methodist Church in Britain and the Methodist Church inArgentina enjoy a quality relationship that enables us to speak toeach other about our needs and our differences; that puts peoplefirst," added the Revd Thomas Quenet, World Church PartnershipCoordinator. "In this case it was the initiative of the MethodistChurch in Britain that suggested the request from the Church inArgentina. The people affected were the most vulnerable living inplaces they could not get away from. We were blessed to be able torespond urgently to the need."

A unique aspect of the World Mission Fund is its ability to giveemergency grants to overseas partners. This often means the Churchcan be the first to respond, showing concern, care and practicalsupport to our people living in other parts of the world. Donate tothe Fund online here.