FROM THE FIELD

Quilts give flood victims emotional comfort as well as physical comfort

Torrential rains in the coastal Kangwon Province of North Korea in the fall of 2001 left thousands homeless. The damage caused by this disaster led LWR partner Caritas Hong Kong to arrange an agreement with the North Korean government to provide quilts and clothing to affected families in the region. In early 2002, 450 bales of LWR quilts traveled from the US through China and the North Korean capital of Pyongyang to finally arrive at the Kangwon Province in April.

Once the quilts arrived, the Food Aid Liaison Unit (of which LWR is a member through Action by Churches Together) and the North Korean government set the distribution plan into action. The plan stated that 3,697 affected families would receive the quilts according to certain criteria: families who had lost not only their homes, but also all of their possessions, including furniture, clothing, food and fuel supplies.

Aid agencies such as the World Food Program, the International Federation of the Red Cross, and the National Red Cross had been at work in the Kangwon Province since immediately after the disastrous rains that devastated the region in October of 2001. These organizations responded to the immediate shortage of basic items such as food, clothes and blankets, but did so at the expense of their emergency reserves of relief supplies and were ultimately unable to meet all of the needs. Therefore, the arrival of LWR quilts the following spring was invaluable as people began to resume their normal lives and rebuild their homes.

Beneficiaries expressed that the arrival of the quilts helped them not only materially, but also psychologically, as they passed months in temporary lodging. They expressed particular appreciation when informed that the quilts had been handmade by concerned North Americans.

Kim Kyong Sun of Munchon City said that she and her husband moved into a friend's home after they lost their home and all of their belongings in the flood. Through both local and international aid, she received kitchen utensils, clothes and one quilt. She said that, thanks to the assistance, she and her family overcame the difficulties relatively easily.

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