The following are selected highlights from among IOCC's projects.
U.S. GULF COAST
The media’s spotlight may have faded from the Gulf Coast, but IOCC has not forgotten that there are whole communities where people are still living in tents, motels and FEMA trailers. IOCC continues to send volunteer crews through July 2008 to build new homes as part of its comprehensive relief and reconstruction program for the Gulf Coast. IOCC is building new homes in partnership with local Orthodox churches and Habitat for Humanity. Housing is the most critical need since getting people back into homes stimulates the return of schools and businesses. Volunteer help is greatly needed considering the extreme shortage of skilled laborers on the Gulf Coast and land values that have doubled and tripled. To volunteer on the Gulf Coast, please visit www.iocc.org/gulfcoast or call Pascalis Papouras at 1-877-803-IOCC.
KOSOVO
IOCC is providing equipment and repairs to schools located in the most isolated enclaves of Kosovo. This program will include repairs and renovations to schools in Gorazdevac (Pec Municipality) and Banje (Srbica Municipality). New equipment, including computers, will be provided for a school in Velika Hoca (Orahovac Municipality), and science lab supplies will be provided for students in Suvo Grlo (Srbica Municipality). IOCC Serbia Program Manager Nenad Prelevic says these villages are some of the poorest in Kosovo. “We chose to target schools because we believe that if you provide for the youth, families will have a greater incentive to stay in Kosovo,” he said. “If there are young people, there is a future.”
ALBANIA
IOCC provided aid to victims of the Albania munitions explosions that occurred this Spring in the town of Gerdec near the capital city of Tirana. The explosions killed 17 people and wounded 300 others. More than 3,500 people were forced to evacuate their homes as the massive explosions continued into the next day. IOCC provided $10,000 of support including basic hygiene supplies and clothing for families who were displaced by the explosions. Psychological support and recreational activities were also provided to children and young people. Diakonia Agapes, the humanitarian organization of the Orthodox Church of Albania and IOCC’s partner in the country, implemented the project.
LEBANON
Children from low-income families in Lebanon represent a significant percentage of public school enrollments. As the country’s economy has suffered due to the unstable political situation, more middle-class families now send their children to public schools. IOCC is repairing and developing 206 public schools throughout the country through a $4.7 million grant from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Through the Lebanon Education Assistance for Development (LEAD) program, IOCC is installing new computer labs with internet access, and purchasing new furniture and laboratory supplies for science instruction. Says one principal from a school benefitting from IOCC’s program: “We used to be a traditional school with only theoretical instruction, but now we have equipment, labs, and technology that allow us to make education more practical.”
For information about other countries where people have been served through IOCC, please use the drop-down box:
