wfn.org | Newsline: Brethren fund gives $250,000 for work in Haiti

[CoBNews <CoBNews@brethren.org>]

Newsline: Church of the Brethren News Service, News Director Cheryl

Brumbaugh-Cayford, 800-323-8039 ext. 260, cobnews@brethren.org

CHURCH OF THE BRETHREN FUND GIVES $250,000 FOR WORK

>IN HAITI

(Feb. 8, 2010) Elgin, IL --The Church of the Brethren's Emergency

Disaster Fund (EDF) has given two more grants for earthquake relief:

$125,000 to support the Church of the Brethren response, and $125,000

for the work of Church World Service (CWS) and partner organizations

>in Haiti.

The two grants are in addition to two previous grants of $25,000 each

>for the same purposes.

The $125,000 grant to the Brethren response will provide daily hot meals

for children at the Paul Lochard No. 2 School in Port-au-Prince, and for

children at the Kids Club at the Delmas 3 Church of Eglise des Freres

Haitiens, and will support the hiring of teachers for the school program.

In addition, the grant will fund a biweekly food packet that organizers

plan to distribute to families in the communities around the three Brethren

congregations in Port-au-Prince, and one-time or occasional food packets

for congregations or families supporting displaced earthquake survivors

>in other areas of Haiti, as necessary.

The grant will support purchasing food locally in Haiti or in the Dominican

Republic. Purchasing the food locally will help support Haitian and

Dominican farmers and others involved in agriculture on the island. Church

members will be hired to purchase food in Haiti. When necessary, the

program will work with the Dominican Church of the Brethren to help

purchase food and transport it into Haiti. Some donations from other

>organizations are also expected.

The new Temporary Shelter Program for 20 families in two locations of

Port-au-Prince will receive funding through this grant. The Temporary

Shelter Program is intended to give aid first to Brethren families in the

Delmas 3 and the Marin church congregations who have lost their homes

in the earthquake, but also to neighbors in need in the areas where the

>congregations have been meeting.

Two pieces of land have been rented where the temporary buildings will

be placed, and work already has begun to dig latrines on one of the pieces

of land. The building of temporary shelters is to start today. Shelters wil l

be made of canvas walls, with tin roofs, and placed on thinly poured cement

floors. Construction teams will be hired locally, under the direction of

Brethren Disaster Ministries Haiti consultant Klebert Exceus, along with

leadership by the National Committee of Eglise des Freres Haitiens.

Additional initiatives that may be supported through this grant include the

purchase of property for temporary housing and long-term church use, and

eventual inclusion of US volunteers in response activities.

The sum of $2,500 from the grant has been given to the Dominican Church

of the Brethren to assist 25 members of Haitian background to visit members

of their families who are still in Haiti. The group is to travel by bus to  Haiti

today morning, each carrying up to two suitcases of 50 pounds each of food

items and other relief goods for their families.

The EDF allocation of $125,000 to Church World Service represents the

Church of the Brethren contribution toward an appeal total of $1,720,672

for the work of CWS and partner organizations in Haiti. The grant will

contribute to the large-scale response of the US Christian community and

the worldwide Christian response through the ACT (Action by Christians

>Together) Alliance.

The Church of the Brethren is a Christian denomination committed to

continuing the work of Jesus peacefully and simply, and to living out its

faith in community. The denomination is based in the Anabaptist and

Pietist faith traditions and is one of the three Historic Peace Churches. I t

celebrated its 300th anniversary in 2008. It counts some 125,000 members

across the United States and Puerto Rico, and has missions and sister

churches in Nigeria, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and India.

># # #

>For more information contact:

>Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford

>Director of News Services

>Church of the Brethren

>1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, IL 60120

>800-323-8039 ext. 260

>cobnews@brethren.org