Anderson Cooper, CBS recently reports on seeking aslum

Hundreds of thousands of people fleeing war or poverty in the Mideast have been risking their lives to seek asylum in Europe. Most come from Syria and hope to make it to Germany with its booming economy and promise of jobs.

Last month, German Chancellor Angela Merkel surprised the world announcing her country would not stop anyone from seeking asylum. After that, the number of asylum seekers doubled, then tripled. How is Europe dealing with this wave of desperate people? To find out we started where most of the new arrivals first set foot in Europe: the small Greek island of Lesbos.

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UMCOR partnerships provide relief

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, more than 4 million people have fled to Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, and Iraq. More than 7 million are internally displaced in Syria. The exodus of refugees to host countries throughout the region and into Europe is placing a strain on available basic resources.

The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) has provided more than $2.4 million in emergency aid for people impacted by the crises in Syria and Iraq, and it continues to support partners in meeting ongoing needs of refugees. Here are some grants UMCOR has issued to partners in recent months:

• In Jordan, UMCOR is working with partner International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC) to provide school kits for 6,048 Syrian refugee schoolchildren; 16,800 health kits for Syrian refugees and the most vulnerable members of the Jordanian host community, and layette kits for 784 newborn babies.

• Intense fighting in Iraq has caused families to flee from their homes. Many have settled in the Kurdistan region without basic hygiene supplies or daily necessities to support their health, dignity, and well-being. UMCOR partner GlobalMedic is providing 1,080 families in the Aliawa camp emergency kits containing one Rainfresh household water purification unit, five toothbrushes, two tubes of toothpaste, and 12 bars of soap to those displaced by the conflict.

• UMCOR is assisting an implementing partner in issuing food vouchers to 440 internally displaced Syrian families who are seeking refuge in northeast Hasakah province. Two vouchers for each family will cover their food needs for two months.

• In Bekaa District, Lebanon, where Syrian refugees reside in overcrowded tents—including up to 24 people in one tent—UMCOR is supporting partner American Near East Refugee Aid (ANERA) in preventing the spread of communicable diseases by providing lice treatment kits and community-based lice awareness services for 5,000 refugee families.

You can continue to help UMCOR meet the basic needs of refugee families with your gifts to Bishop Ough's 2015 Thanksgiving Appeal.  Click here for resources