wfn.org | Lutherans Continue Assistance in Sierra Leone

[Brenda Williams <BRENDAW@elca.org>]

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

January 22, 1998

ACT KEEPS WORKING IN SIERRA LEONE
98-03-014-AH

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Action by Churches Together (ACT) has undertaken
continued work in the west African nation of Sierra Leone and issued an
appeal for more than $2 million to support this work.
     Following the signing of the Abidjan Peace Accord in November 1996
many displaced people in Sierra Leone returned to their homes after six
years of war.  The Council of Churches in Sierra Leone has been working
with refugees and displaced persons since 1991, according to its partner,
ACT.
     ACT is a worldwide network of churches, including the Lutheran World
Federation, meeting human need through coordinated emergency response.
     The most recent effort sought to serve people through distribution of
seeds, tools and food aid to farm families.  A total of 5,022 farming
families were cared for and final seed distributions were completed on May
23, 1997, in time for the planting season, ACT reports.
     Two days later a coup forced the democratically-elected government
into exile.  According to ACT, the ruling military junta is not capable of
governing or of controlling troops.  Banks remain closed.  Telephone lines
are vandalized.  ACT reports fuel shortages and concerns of equipment and
vehicles being looted.  In this atmosphere of insecurity, political
uncertainty and growing economic hardship ACT found innovative ways of
continuing the work.
     The current ACT proposal includes a combination of relief and
rehabilitation activities.  The ACT program has increasingly relied on the
city of Conakry in Guinea as a source of supplies and for communication.
One of the few agencies still operating in the country, the Council of
Churches in Sierra Leone has demonstrated the value of a local agency in
times of crisis.

     The Evangelical Lutheran Church Sierra Leone is an active member of
the Council of Churches in Sierra Leone.  The Lutheran church's work and
ministry has been focused on the rural communities which make up more than
half of its congregations.  An example of this focus is the church's 25-acre palm oil plantation,
which was a source of sustenance for the
community until the civil conflict.
     ACT reports that many people left the urban areas of Sierra Leone
following the coup, seeking safety in their home villages.  A good harvest
answered the need for additional food in the villages as families welcomed
their newly-arrived relatives.
     Ninety percent of the seed provided by ACT on a loan basis is
expected to be recovered.  Work continues "to be carried out in a war zone
where many vulnerable people will continue to need relief," ACT says.  "It
is therefore essential to continue to provide assistance to communities to
rebuild their lives after years of displacement, to prevent further
displacement taking place."
     Since 1991 nearly half of Sierra Leone's population has been
displaced due to rebel activities.  Many people have been deeply
traumatized by the war.  The coup in May caused further displacement, but
this time from urban to rural areas, putting pressure on communities as
they strive to re-establish village life.
     ACT seeks to aid farming families, those who fish or cultivate cash
crops (such as cocoa, coffee and palm oil), vulnerable people, families and
communities rehabilitating their homes and community infrastructure, member
churches and people psychologically affected by the war.

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