wfn.org | Offering of Letters to support debt relief for poorest countries

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

March 16, 1999 News media contact: Joretta Purdue*(202)546-8722*Washington
10-71B{142}

WASHINGTON (UMNS) -- The annual Offering of Letters campaign for 1999 will
be part of the global effort for debt relief for the poorest countries,
according to Bread for the World, a Christian citizens' movement against
hunger.

"Debt relief is hunger relief," explained the Rev. David Beckman, the
Lutheran clergyman who heads the ecumenical organization. Bread for the
World annually asks churches and individuals to participate in the
letter-writing effort, which has a different theme each year.

Using the current theme, "Proclaim Jubilee: Break the Chains of Debt,"
letter writers will urge the U.S. Congress to help relieve the debt owed by
the world's poorest countries in a way that will benefit poor people. The
effort is part of the Jubilee 2000 campaign, an international movement of
churches and other organizations seeking debt cancellation for the poorest
nations.

On March 11, H.R. 1095, the Debt Relief for Poverty Reduction Act, was
introduced in the House of Representatives by a bipartisan group from
different Christian and Jewish backgrounds.

"This legislation will enable the poorest countries of the world to better
provide for the needs of the most vulnerable people in their societies - the
young, the elderly and the sick," said Rep. James A. Leach (R-Iowa), one of
the bill's co-sponsors.

Wendy Whiteside, executive secretary of program management for the United
Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), expressed support for the Offering of
Letters "as a way to urge policy makers to see the importance of debt
relief." 

To reduce their debt, struggling countries must divert money from education,
food and health care. In Tanzania, for example, the average annual income is
$150, but the country's debt is $250 for every man, woman and child. Nearly
half of all Tanzanians die before age 35.

For details on the Offering of Letters, contact Bread for the World, 1100
Wayne Ave., Suite 1000, Silver Spring, MD 20910; phone: (800) 82BREAD;
e-mail: offering.of.letters@bread.org .
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