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["WCC Media" <Media@wcc-coe.org>]

World Council of Churches - News Release

Contact: +41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363 media@wcc-coe.org

>For immediate release - 28/05/2008 15:29:00

MYANMAR THEOLOGICAL EDUCATION DISRUPTED BY CYCLONE NARGIS

Amongst the widespread devastation disseminated by Cyclone
Nargis, Myanmar theological institutions were not spared their
share of damage and loss. 

“There is so much suffering, sadness and loss”, said Rev. Peter
Joseph, executive secretary of the Association for Theological
Education in Myanmar, talking in Geneva today about the
consequences of the cyclone that hit the country on 2 May.
According to UN figures, over 77,000 people died, more than
55,000 are still missing, and 150,000 were displaced, with the
number of affected people reaching 2, 4 million. 

“Two of our students died in the Irrawaddy Delta”, Joseph
reported. “We do not have theological schools there, but they
were on summer assignments, working at their churches in what we
call field education.” 

Eleven out of the 32 theological institutions that are members
of the association are in the Rangoon area. Most of them were
damaged and cannot open for the new school year, which normally
starts in June. “The most affected ones are trying to rebuild as
fast as they can with help from churches and colleagues from near
and afar”, Joseph said. 

Amidst the devastation, churches are struggling to assist people
in need. “Churches are mobilizing youth from their congregations
to help clearing up the damage in Rangoon and to serve in other
affected areas”, reported Joseph, who is the pastor of the
Immanuel Telugu Baptist Church. 

They are not alone. Local organizations are mobilizing hundreds
of volunteers and are procuring relief goods locally in Rangoon
and in the Delta region, reported today the global alliance
Action by Churches Together (ACT) International. 

“Aid is going out everyday, and local organizations are reaching
thousands of people”, an ACT member representative said. Through
already established networks of community-based organizations,
ACT members have assisted more than 100,000 people since the days
immediately following the cyclone.

“The effects of the destruction are seen almost everywhere...
But what is striking is the coping mechanisms of the Burmese
people,” explained an ACT member representative. 

Association for Theological Education in Myanmar
http://www.atemm.org

Action by Churches Together (ACT) International
http://act-intl.org

>WCC member churches in Myanmar:
>http://www.oikoumene.org/?id=4676

Additional information:Juan Michel,+41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507
6363media@wcc-coe.org

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith,
witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical
fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings
together 349 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches
representing more than 560 million Christians in over 110
countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic
Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia, from
the Methodist Church in Kenya. Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland.