Title: ELCA Participates in Emergency Assistance to Families in the Middle East ELCA NEWS SERVICE
June 30, 2006
ELCA Participates in Emergency Assistance to Families in the Middle East 06-090-MRC
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- International Disaster Response of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) has provided $100,000 to assist families in the Middle East who are unemployed and cannot afford medical attention.
The funds were sent June 28 to Action by Churches Together (ACT), which has issued an emergency appeal for funds on behalf of the Middle East Council of Churches/Department of Service to Palestinian Refugees (MECC/DSPR). MECC/DSPR provides health and education services, vocational training, and community and village infrastructure development for Palestinian refugees, particularly in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
The current appeal is aimed at providing food and medical assistance to more than 5,000 families in Gaza and the West Bank, said Dr. Belletech Deressa, director for international development and disaster response, ELCA Global Mission. ELCA International Disaster Response funds will be sent to ACT for implementation by the Middle East Council of Churches, she said.
"The political realities in the Middle East have induced the ongoing economical and political emergency faced by a large portion of the Palestinian population," said Deressa. The emergency "is primarily due to the blockage of funds by international donors and withholding of taxes and custom duties collected for the Palestinian National Authority by the Israeli government," she said, adding that "the financial withholding has significantly contributed to food shortages, ill health and increased misery for the poor, mainly women and children."
Coordinated by ELCA Global Mission, International Disaster Response channels its funds through international church organizations and relief agencies. Funds provide for food, medicine, drinking water, emergency shelter and other materials for survivors of disasters.
The ELCA is a member of ACT -- a global alliance of churches and related agencies working to save lives and support communities in emergency situations worldwide. It is based with the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), both in Geneva, Switzerland. The ELCA is a member of the WCC and LWF. - - - INTERNATIONAL DISASTERS: Editors: When listing organizations receiving funds for aid to survivors of major disasters outside the United States, Puerto Rico or the U.S. Virgin Islands, please include: ELCA International Disaster Response, PO Box 71764, Chicago, IL 60694-1764, 1-800-638-3522 and http://www.ELCA.org/disaster/idrgive on the Internet.
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org http://www.elca.org/news ELCA News Blog: http://www.elca.org/news/blog