Taiwan Church News

3305 Edition

June 29 - July 5, 2015

Church Ministry

PCT Humanitarian Rescue Task Force Starts To Operate

Reported by Lin Yi-ying

In order to swiftly respond frequent calamities happened in domestic oroverseas countries, and well integrate PCT's first aid mechanism in medicare, public concern, social work and financial fields, the first session of the 60th PCT General Assembly decided to establish a humanitarian rescue task force to address the increasing demand of global disaster relief.

And the first meeting of this team was held on June 23, representatives fromthree PCT hospitals, Church and Society Committee and Indigenous Mission Committee were invited to discuss and exchange their opinions. Some initial consensus were concluded in this first meeting.

Domestically, three PCT Hospitals, Mackay Memorial Hospital, Changhua Christian Hospital and Sin-lau Hospital, will in charge of the calamities happened in northern, central and southern part of Taiwan island respectively. Cooperating with public health and social affairs bureaus of local governments, three PCT hospitals will supply immediate medicare and support.

As to overseas' disaster, such international rescue will comply with theco-ordinations between PCT General Assembly and Ministry of Foreign Affairs. A designated contact window will be set up between Church and Society Committee and three PCT hospitals to integrate the resources and facilitate the first aid rescue operation.

Rev. Sudu Tada, Vice Moderator of PCT General Assembly, concluded that an integrated operation of disaster relief should not be limited to medicare only, many factors had to be taken into considerations, like the kinds of calamity(plague, earthquake, flood or wildfire); resources allocation and integration; personnel involvement of the presbytery or district churches to carry on the aftermath rescue, care and reconstruction; charity fund-raising and accounting.

Therefore, in order to make PCT's Humanitarian Rescue Task Force more efficient and responsive, more discussion should be held in future to integrate different field works from assessment, public concern, financial and social work etc., said Rev. Sudu Tata.

Translated by Peter Wolfe