On Saturday, April 25th a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit Nepal. As reports of damage and fatalities began to filter out to the world through various media venues the staff in the main offices of MCC (Mennonite Central Committee) in Akron, PA, and in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, thought about the situation in Nepal on a more personal level. We have MCC staff living and doing humanitarian work in Nepal year round.
As we all came in to work on Monday morning at the MCC office in Akron (and likewise at the office in Winnipeg,) the email went out. " Everyone in the office is invited to come to the center of the building at 10 am for a time of prayer and updates on the situation in Nepal." In the MCC Akron office more than 50 staff members (including me) from all departments -- staff from accounting, the reception area, the IT department, the staff who maintain the building and grounds, the staff who handle shipments of humanitarian aid, the HR team, the staff who provide support to our international staff in more than 60 countries, -- we all came together to pray and to hear updates. We heard reports on the status of MCC's staff currently living in Nepal ("all are safe and accounted for") but we also heard that MCC partner organizations have been affected by the earthquake, and that as thousands of people are reported dead, injured, or still missing, the MCC Nepal staff and partners are already working to respond to the many needs around them. We prayed together for the situation and staff in Nepal. Then we went back to our desks to continue moving forward the work of MCC around the world -- including supporting the response of the MCC Nepal team as they provide help to people struggling amid the crisis around them.
Please continue to pray for the MCC Nepal team and partners, and for the many other MCC staff working and supporting local partners in equally difficult humanitarian situations all around the world.
Click the links below for info shared by MCC's Nepal-based staff describing what's been going on already this week in MCC's response to the unfolding situation in Nepal:
1.) The Most Recent Update on MCC's Disaster Relief Work this week in Nepal.
2.) MCC Responds with Food, Shelter, and Supplies in Nepal (article on MCC website)
3.) VIDEO INTERVIEW with MCC's Country Representatives in Nepal
4.) An Update and Photo on the MCC Response (article in the patriot news)
5.) Click here to read: an article (with photos of the earthquake) from the Huffington post.
