wfn.org | ELCA Assists Afghan Quake Victims

[Brenda Williams <BRENDAW@elca.org>]

Reply-To: ElcaNews <ELCANEWS@ELCASCO.ELCA.ORG>

ELCA NEWS SERVICE

May 28, 1998

ELCA ASSISTS AFGHAN QUAKE VICTIMS
98-19-122-AH

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has sent
$20,000 to an ecumenical effort to aid victims of February earthquakes in
Afghanistan.  According to Action by Churches Together (ACT), 32,000 people
in 24 villages in the Rostaq district were affected by the quakes.
     ACT reports the earthquakes killed 2,323 people, injured 818,
destroyed 8,094 houses and killed 3,083 livestock animals.  The economy of
the area centers around livestock and some grain production.  ACT described
these communities as "among the poorest in the world."  The stricken area
has almost no infrastructure, ACT reports.
     ACT is a worldwide network of churches, including the Lutheran World
Federation, meeting human need through coordinated emergency response.
     The gift through the ELCA's International Disaster Response will help
the ACT effort provide food needed for 1,800 especially vulnerable
families.  ACT assistance includes seeds, fertilizers and agricultural
tools.
     Pointing out that Afghanistan is a predominantly Muslim country,
Belletech Deressa of the ELCA's Division for Global Mission said, "We take
this action as an expression of love for our brothers and sisters in the
human family."
     ACT will provide aid to farming families from destroyed and damaged
villages.  ACT's partners, Church World Service and Norwegian Church Aid,
will assist communities in repairing irrigation networks, with livestock
production and with support needed to reconstruct homes and reduce peoples'
vulnerability to future earthquakes.  Seeds, tools and fertilizer will help
assure that families will have food next year.
     Afghanistan is the world's third poorest country, ahead of Sierra
Leone and Guinea in human development.

For information contact:
Ann Hafften, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://www.elca.org/co/news/current.html