wfn.org | Lutherans Work to Meet the Needs of People in Cuba, Haiti

[<NEWS@ELCA.ORG>]

Title: Lutherans Work to Meet the Needs of People in Cuba, Haiti
ELCA NEWS SERVICE

>September 12, 2008  

Lutherans Work to Meet the Needs of People in Cuba, Haiti
08-153-MRC

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Some of the greatest needs in Cuba
and Haiti are securing food and clean water for survivors
of the 2008 hurricane season, according to Megan Bradfield.
In an effort to respond to the needs of people in the two
Caribbean islands, members of the Evangelical Lutheran
Church in America (ELCA) provided funds Sept. 11 to help
secure life-sustaining resources.

Through ELCA International Disaster Response, Lutherans
provided an initial $25,000 to support immediate relief efforts
in Haiti, said Bradfield, associate director for international
development and disaster response, ELCA Global Mission.  The
funds were sent to the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), which
continues to conduct damage assessment and organize hurricane
recovery efforts there.

Tropical storm Fay, Hurricane Gustav, Tropical Storm
Hanna and Hurricane Ike struck Haiti this season.  Action by
Churches Together (ACT) reported that the storms killed 328
people and devastated the land.  According to an ELCA Disaster
Response alert, families in Haiti were already struggling with
the "silent disaster of hunger and extreme poverty" prior to
being struck by the storms, which further drove people away
from life-sustaining resources.

"Receiving food from external resources is not a luxury;
it is a necessity to save lives, particularly in Haiti," said
Bradfield.  Because Haiti is the poorest country in the Western
Hemisphere, the impact of disasters on its most vulnerable
citizens is disproportionate.  Often citizens lack access to
the basics of life, let alone what is needed to rebuild, she
said.

"Extreme poverty and disasters create a vicious cycle
of impoverishment for the economically poor.  The lack of
financial resources to purchase means for cooking, for example,
causes people to cut down trees to use as charcoal," said
Bradfield.  When multiple storms strike, the deforestation
enables mudslides to occur, making communities further
vulnerable.  This is the circumstance in Haiti, she said.

Storms Fay, Gustav and Ike also struck Cuba.  Gustav
damaged an estimated 100,000 homes in the western part of
the island.  Through ELCA International Disaster Response,
Lutherans gave an initial $10,000 to support the humanitarian
efforts of Church World Service (CWS) in Cuba.  CWS will use
the funds to purchase material aid -- blankets, medicine,
hygiene and baby kits -- for survivors of the storms.

The ELCA participates in the work of CWS and is a member
of the LWF -- a global communion of Christian churches in the
Lutheran tradition.  ACT is 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 LWF, both in Geneva.
 The ELCA is a member of the WCC.

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.

>---

>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