wfn.org | Lutherans Establish 'Millions for Mitch' Campaign

[Brenda Williams <BRENDAW@elca.org>]

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

November 9, 1998

LUTHERANS ESTABLISH 'MILLIONS FOR MITCH' CAMPAIGN
98-39-227-FI

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Lutherans in the United States and Caribbean are
working together to assist immediate response and long-term recovery
efforts in Central America following the devastation of Hurricane Mitch.
"Millions for Mitch" is a campaign involving millions of Lutherans in
contributing millions of dollars.
     Hurricane Mitch killed more than 10,000 people Oct. 29-31.  The
Category 5 hurricane was the strongest storm in the Atlantic Ocean since
Hurricane Gilbert in 1988.  Damages were catastrophic, with ships lost in
the Caribbean Sea and deaths caused by flooding and mud slides in El
Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and Nicaragua.  Millions are
homeless, and hundreds of thousands are isolated.
     The 5.2 million-member Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)
and the 2.6 million-member Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS) are
coordinating their responses to the disaster through their overseas relief
and development agency, Lutheran World Relief (LWR).  As a member of the
Lutheran World Federation (LWF), the ELCA is also responding through Action
by Churches Together (ACT) -- a worldwide network of churches meeting human
need through coordinated emergency response.
     Gifts marked "Millions for Mitch" or "Hurricane Mitch" will be used
for church-related relief and recovery efforts already under way --
primarily in Honduras and Nicaragua, but also in El Salvador and Guatemala.
     The ELCA, LCMS and LWR have already contributed more than $100,000 in
funds and material goods.  This figure includes $30,000 the ELCA has sent
in initial assistance: $15,000 to The Nicaraguan Lutheran Church of Faith
and Hope (ILNFE); $10,000 to ACT for work in Honduras; and $5,000 to the
Augustinian Lutheran Church in Guatemala.  LWR is organizing four shipping
containers of relief supplies, after committing $75,000 worth of aid early
in the crisis with help from LCMS World Relief and the Wisconsin
Evangelical Lutheran Synod.
     The Rev. Victoria Cortez Rodriguez, ILNFE president, asked the ELCA
for funds to help the Nicaraguan church provide food, shelter and medicine.
In the aftermath of flooding, one of the greatest concerns is disease
control.  Mycosis, malaria, dengue, cholera, respiratory illnesses,
diarrhea and conjunctivitis are among the health risks facing the region.
Malnutrition will also be a factor in the months ahead.
     Port officials in Puerto Cortes on the Caribbean coast of Honduras
have reported that ships can now safely berth there, according to
ACT-Christian Commission for Development in Honduras (CCD).  All assistance
that comes to CCD will be dispatched quickly and without customs charges,
ACT said.
     In El Salvador the LWF Department for World Service has formed an
emergency committee with the Salvadoran Lutheran Synod and The Episcopal
Church.  The committee is working with local parishes and Lutheran youth
brigades to distribute emergency shelter, generic medicine and food.

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:

                      Lutheran World Relief
                      390 Park Avenue South
                       New York, NY  10016
                           212-532-6350

For information contact:
Frank Imhoff, Assoc. Director 1-773-380-2955 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://www.elca.org/co/news/current.html