Convoy of Hope responds to Katrina, establishes distribution points
Working with local partners, Convoy of Hope Disaster Response Teams have established a distribution point in Picayune, Miss. and are traveling further east to establish additional locations.
Cars––often filled with five or six people who are now homeless––were lined up two miles in either direction at the Picayune distribution point. Volunteers had served 300 families by 9 a.m. this morning. “The need for ice and water is huge,” said Jeff Nene, Convoy of Hope Communications director. “The people we are serving are often in tears, thankful to receive something so small as bottled water and a couple of bags of ice. These are the simple things that we often take for granted.”
More than 30 truckloads of ice, water and food are already in the region or en route. Convoy of Hope is preparing for a response that could require hundreds of loads in the weeks ahead.
Nene, who has visited tsunami-ravaged Southeast Asia several times, viewed portions of Louisiana and Mississippi from the air. “Even sixty miles north of the coast, the area is utterly unrecognizable,” he said. “The need is beyond belief.”
U.S. Disaster Relief Director Kary Kingsland said, “The sweltering heat makes it tough on people and volunteers are fatigued even before they start. But we have to keep working around the clock to help people put their lives back together.”
The best way people can participate in this relief effort is by making a financial contribution. “That keeps the trucks rolling and gets the supplies to people who need the help the most,” said Nene.
For more information or to make a secure online cash donation, please visit http://www.convoyofhope.org or call 417/823-8998.
For more information:
Kristin Kubitschek, Public Relations Director, 417/823-8998, 417/894-9084 mobile
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For more than ten years, Convoy of Hope™, a nonprofit organization, has provided resources to organizations and churches to meet physical and spiritual needs for the purpose of making the community a better place. This is accomplished through domestic and international outreaches, supply lines, and disaster response.