wfn.org | Re: Mennonites Join with Chinese Christians to Assist Flood Victims

[Mennonite Central Committee Communications]

TOPIC: Mennonites join with Chinese Christians to Assist Flood Victims 
DATE: August 23, 1996   
CONTACT: Pearl Sensenig 
V: 717/859-1151 F: 717/859-2171
E-MAIL ADDRESS:  mailbox@mcc.org

August 23, 1996 
3)
MENNONITES JOIN WITH CHINESE CHRISTIANS TO ASSIST
FLOOD VICTIMS

A joint release of Mennonite Central Committee and General
Conference Mennonite Church  
AKRON, Pa. -- Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) and the
Commission on Overseas Mission of the General Conference
Mennonite Church have together contributed $16,500 Cdn./$12,000
U.S. to help rebuild schools and homes destroyed by summer floods
along the Yangtze River in central China.

More than 1,600 persons have lost their lives and hundreds of
thousands of homes have been destroyed.  Much of the summer's rice
and cotton crop has been lost, forcing some already poverty-stricken
areas to rely totally on the government for grain assistance.

While this summer's floods are a result of heavier than normal rainfall,
the Chinese government has conceded that widespread logging and
other ecological damage along the Yangtze River is contributing to the
problem as well.

Amity Foundation, a relief and development organization initiated by
the Chinese church, will distribute the funds.  The Amity Foundation
is currently assisting people in several poor and hard-hit counties in
Anhui Province.  In addition to rebuilding several primary schools,
materials will be purchased to reconstruct a home for elderly people.

Tan Liying, Amity Foundation's relief coordinator, also hopes they
will also be able to undertake further work among minority groups
affected by the flooding.  Ms. Tan has told China Educational
Exchange that Amity is doing what it can in the face of such a huge
calamity, and that outside assistance from Mennonites and other
Christians around the world does make a difference.

China Educational Exchange coordinates Mennonite programs in
China.
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pls23august1996