Storm Relief Keeping Salvation Army Busy
by Allie Martin
September 21, 2004
(AgapePress) - The Salvation Army has been stretched thin lately as its relief teams respond to a string of natural disasters in the southeastern United States. More than 2,500 volunteers and staff members with the organization have been mobilized to help meet the physical and spiritual needs of residents affected by recent tropical storms and hurricanes.Major George Hood with The Salvation Army says believers who want to help can pray for the staff and volunteer personnel of the community service agency as they put in long hours aiding victims. "The volunteers that we have are on the brink of total exhaustion," he says. "People have been out there for weeks, and we need to pray that the Lord will sustain them and give them a freshness and a renewal."
Even though the major says these steadfast relief workers' will and aspirations are solid, he notes that for many, their bodies are "beginning to weaken, and we need to pray for strength and sustenance as they continue to serve victims of these storms."
Also, Hood says, there is a great need for donations. He estimates The Salvation Army will spend in excess 40 million dollars helping U.S. victims of the recent disasters, and he asks of concerned individuals, "Pray that resources will be made available for us to respond in the way that we believe that we need to respond."
The Salvation Army does not hold back surplus resources in anticipation of national or regional emergencies like the one being experienced in the Southeast right now, the spokesman explains. "We do not historically stockpile funds for these kinds of disasters; we just go out in faith and respond with ministry and service," he says. "So we need people to not only pray but to also send cash contributions so that we can continue the important work that we are doing."
The Salvation Army is also working at capacity to help people in the Caribbean who have been affected by Hurricane Ivan. According to Colonel John Matear, Territorial Commander for the Caribbean, members of the Trinidad and Tobago, Antigua, and Barbados divisions have mobilized to join relief distribution efforts in Grenada, where the storm left many people homeless and without immediate access to food and clean water.
And in rural Jamaica, where Hurricane Ivan inflicted temporary electric power failures, food and potable water shortages, damage to homes, and some loss of life, The Salvation Army is preparing food for distribution to hurricane victims. Accompanied by local police, volunteers have begun to distribute the food parcels to hard-hit areas, many of which are isolated and cut off from resources due to flooding.
