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World Vision Insider / June 11, 1999
World Vision Plans Re-entry into Kosovo
World Vision has positioned itself for a quick re-entry into Kosovo, should the terms of the peace resolution signed on June 10 be fully implemented.
According to Philip Hunt, World Vision’s Regional Vice President of the Middle East and Eastern Europe Region, “Our plan is to return to Kosovo well ahead of major migrations of returning refugees.” Once back inside Kosovo, World Vision’s strategy is to help people regain self-reliance and to rebuild communities and society. The strategy includes six components:
- Emergency health care
- Psycho-social support
- Food assistance
- Winter clothing and relief supplies
- Emergency shelter weatherization
- Water and sanitation rehabilitation
World Vision has chosen Skopje, Macedonia as its primary entry point and Kukes, Albania as a secondary entry point—two areas through which a large percentage of returning refugees are expected to pass. To facilitate an efficient response, World Vision has prepositioned the following relief supplies in Skopje and Montenegro:
- 6,500 food ration parcels
- 6,500 infant kits
- 2,000 blankets
- 35 health kits on order (these will serve 100,000 people)
“I pray the developments of recent days results in a secure, safe peace for the future,” says Hunt.
Hunt’s view about long-term peace in the region is shared by many aid workers. He says that sustainable peace can only come if there is a serious investment in community development that includes reconciliation and assistance with social infrastructure rebuilding such as that provided by World Vision. “This kind of assistance builds community,” Hunt says, “and it creates a civil society built on the principles of justice, love, and peace that Jesus speaks of when he teaches about the Kingdom of God.”
Please pray with us that Kosovo will have such a peace.
World Vision Responds to Deadly Drought in Brazil
A two-year drought has impacted 10 million people in northeastern Brazil causing water shortages, contaminated drinking water, and widespread harvest failure. Extended forecasts show no sign of relief. Residents are faced with acute hunger and extremely limited water supply—most of which is contaminated.
The region has suffered between 50 to 100 percent loss of both subsistence and cash crops. The drought has severely affected area children. The death rate for children under a year old has soared to 307 deaths per 1,000 live births in some areas. A third of the deaths are due to diarrhea contracted from drinking contaminated water.
World Vision has launched an emergency response to save lives and meet the critical health needs of the most vulnerable children. World Vision plans to accomplish the following in the coming months:
- Provide therapeutic feeding for 3,000 severely malnourished children.
- Distribute 66 pounds of bean seed for 3,000 needy families to help establish a seed bank.
- Construct 200 cisterns, each with a 260-gallon fresh water capacity to meet the needs of 1,200 people.
World Vision is working in close coordination with local governments and civil society organizations. Area World Vision programs will act as focal points to launch emergency interventions into the most needy surrounding communities. World Vision is praying for an urgent response from donors to save the lives of children at risk, reduce the hunger and suffering of children, and purchase seeds in time for the planting season.
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