wfn.org | Lutherans Help Relieve Suffering in Sudan

[Brenda Williams <BRENDAW@elca.org>]

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

August 13, 1998

LUTHERANS HELP RELIEVE SUFFERING IN SUDAN
98-29-165-AH

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Grants from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America (ELCA) and Lutheran World Relief (LWR) will help famine-stricken
people in southern Sudan.  War and drought have left hundreds of thousands
displaced and now starving.  According to Action by Churches Together
(ACT), an estimated 150,000 people in Sudan face starvation and death in
the next month.
     ACT is a worldwide network of churches, including Lutheran World
Relief and the Lutheran World  Federation, meeting human need through
coordinated emergency response.  The ELCA is providing $50,000 and LWR
$30,000.
     In Rumbek and Yirol counties, 620,000 people, many returned refugees
or internally displaced, are concentrated near roads and highways, some of
which contain land mines, in hope of receiving emergency food.  Most are
too weak to farm or look for wild leaves to eat.  Even these "famine foods"
are soon to be exhausted.  Large numbers of children are sick or
malnourished, with those under the age of 14 most seriously affected.
Relief access on the ground is minimal, with bad roads and expected rains
necessitating continued food airlifts.
     As part of the efforts coordinated by ACT, 800 metric tons of relief
food are being sent to assist approximately 180,000 people in the next six
months. High protein supplements and medicines will be provided for
children under five years old for three months, and a new feeding center
for young children will be staffed with a nutritionist and local workers.
Farmers ready to plant will receive 200 metric tons of maize, sorghum,
cowpeas and groundnut seeds as well as agricultural tools.  A monitoring
system is being implemented to assess food security.
     Working through local churches and other partners, LWR is helping the
Sudanese in other ways as well.  For Sudanese and other refugees in Kenya,
LWR has secured more than $560,000 for the Kakuma refugee camp and is
sending the camp a material aid shipment valued at $1,083,000 including
quilts, health and school kits.  In the past two years, LWR has supported
peace and reconciliation programs in Sudan and self-help projects for
Sudanese refugee women in Kenya.
     LWR works in overseas development and relief on behalf of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Lutheran Church--Missouri
Synod.

For information contact:
Ann Hafften, Director 1-773-380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://www.elca.org/co/news/current.html