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To make a contribution mail your check to

 Christian Friends of Korea

P O Box 936

Black Mountain, NC   28711

Urgent Flood Relief

Devastating floods have swept through the breadbasket areas of North Korea in recent days.  From August 5-14, torrential rains combined with high winds dumped 60-85cm (24-33 inches) of rainwater on the croplands and denuded mountainsides of five provinces in the Southern region of North Korea, taking people, homes, crops, bridges, roads and other structures with it.  Early reports indicate that over 300 people are dead or missing, as many as 300,000 are homeless, and at least 11%, and perhaps as much as 60%, of the rice and corn crop growing in the fields for the fall harvest will likely be lost.

We have been urged by our North Korean counterparts to send antibiotics and food,

and to help in all other possible ways.  We need your generous help in order to respond with the love and compassion of Christ to those who are suffering in North Korea.

Hospital Operating Room Improvements

Tuberculosis is generally treated with nutritional supplementation, a 6-8 month long multi-drug course of anti-tuberculosis medicine, and rest.  But many patients also require surgery.  We have been asked to refurbish and upgrade existing rudimentary operating rooms at each of the three TB hospitals we support.  This would include upgrading all the interior surfaces, windows, doors, etc., as well as providing new surgical equipment and instruments for each operating room.. We have been working very hard over the summer months to prepare shipments for these upgrades and are grateful to report that one shipment of materials is in the process of being ordered and the other is in the process of being shipped.  We hope to send a technical team this Fall to complete the renovations at two of our supported hospitals and another team in the Spring of 2008 to renovate the third hospital.  We are grateful to report these renovations are at present 90% funded.

Soybeans

Food, in addition to medicine, is essential to returning often malnourished tuberculosis patients to health.  Soybeans are a good source of protein.  As a result of recent flooding, at least 11% of the rice and corn crop growing in the fields for the harvest this fall was destroyed.  This amounts to about 400,000 metric tons of cereal needs, in a country that was already expecting a shortfall of 1 million metric tons of food (1/5^th of its overall cereal needs) and with over a third of the population chronically malnourished. 

$16 will feed 1 patient for 6months

One ton of soybeans costs $560 and will feed 37 patients for 6 months

One train car load costs $33,600 and will feed 2,220 patients for 6 months

General Medicines/ Supplies Containers

Mixed container loads of medicine, food and other supplies can be purchased at a fraction of their full value through partner humanitarian assistance organizations that receive in-kind donations of medicine and other new goods from various corporations.  Valued at $150,000+, depending upon the exact contents, these 20' or 40' containers typically cost $12,000-$25,000 each to purchase the goods and ship them to North Korea.

$1 sends at least $15 in value of general medicines/supplies

$12,000-$25,000 for a mixed container

Greenhouses

We are in the process of contacting our suppliers to purchase small greenhouses that can be used as temporary shelters for flood victims.  During they winter, they will help individual households grow vitamin rich vegetables.  We will update the cost when we receive pricing.

Estimated cost for 1 greenhouse is $200-$500

Doctor's Kits with Bicycles

Over the past four years, we have sent over 530 doctor's kits to the physicians who serve in the hospitals and rest homes we support.  These kits include the most basic diagnostic tools such as a stethoscope, blood pressure cuff, thermometers, otoscope, and other items in a bag marked with CFK's logo.  They are greatly valued by all the doctors because they help them provide better care to their patients.  Please help us send more of these kits, together with a new bicycle to help the doctor make house calls.

$150 provides 1 doctor's kit and a heavy duty bicycle

Kaesong Provincial Pediatric Hospital

The Kaesong Provincial Pediatric Hospital (formerly the Ivey Hospital) was built by Methodist missionaries from 1907-1909.  For nearly the last 100 years, it has served the needs of the Kaesong region and is now a pediatric hospital responsible for the care of 140,000 children under the age of 18.  We provided significant equipment upgrades to core areas of the hospital in 2004, but many other departments of the hospital need major rehabilitation to bring them up to the most minimal standards of care.  New windows and doors throughout, equipment for a 2nd surgical suite, rehabilitation of an ear/nose/throat treatment room, hospital beds and bedding, running water, and general maintenance and housekeeping tools, supplies and equipment are all a high priority. 

Your gift to help this facility will impact the lives of tens of thousands of children and their families each year in Christ's name.

Mangyongdae County People's Hospital

This hospital needs 300 bed sets (including a bed, mattress, pillow, and 2 full sets of sheets all marked with the donor's name and CFK's logo), as well as an ambulance to help them retrieve critical patients in need of care.

$13,000 for an ambulance

$160 for a bed set

Special Requests

We continue to receive special requests for various items ranging from specific pieces of medical equipment to agricultural related items.  We respond to these special requests based upon assessment of the need and funding availability.  Thank you for your generous undesignated gifts that facilitate our response to these requests.

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Copyright  © 2003 Christian Friends of Korea PO Box 936 Black Mountain, NC 28711

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