wfn.org | Lutherans Continue to Support Relief Efforts in Sudan

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ELCA NEWS SERVICE

July 13, 2001

LUTHERANS CONTINUE TO SUPPORT RELIEF EFFORTS IN SUDAN
01-191-MR

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America (ELCA) recently contributed $50,000 to the church's
International Disaster Response fund to support relief efforts in Sudan.
Civil war and drought in the north-central African country have led to
the displacement of people and to food shortages.
     "An estimated 30,000 to 50,000 internally displaced people have
fled from fighting.  They are in need of emergency aid," said the Rev.
Y. Franklin Ishida, director for international communication, ELCA
Division for Global Mission.
     "The fighting is taking place in south Sudan -- Raga and Wau.
Government forces and the Sudan People's Liberation Army, the military
wing of the opposition movement in the south, has caused massive
displacement," Ishida said.
     The Sudan Council of Churches is working to assist in the
transport of the most vulnerable refugees to safe places and to help
with food distribution, he said.  According to the council, the most
urgent needs are the transportation of stranded people, shelter and
food, Ishida said.
     Drought is causing a severe food shortage, Ishida said.
"According to the World Food Programme, 600,000 Sudanese are affected by
the drought.  The fighting is bound to hamper Operation Lifeline Sudan,
which is or airlifting food from Kenya to the conflict-ridden south of
Sudan.  The food shortage could develop into a major food crisis," he
said.
     The funds sent by the ELCA will help support relief efforts
coordinated through Action by Churches Together (ACT), a worldwide
network of churches and related agencies that meet human need through
organized emergency response.  ACT is based with the World Council of
Churches (WCC) and Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in Geneva,
Switzerland.  The ELCA is a member of both the WCC and LWF.
  Church Ecumenical Action in Sudan (CEAS) will distribute the fund,
Ishida said.
  "CEAS, a consortium of church-related agencies including the LWF
Department for World Service, has been engaged in emergency and
rehabilitation programs in the area," Ishida said.  "Work needed
includes emergency preparedness, food distribution, security, primary
health care and safe water supply."
  LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the Lutheran
tradition.  Founded in 1947, the LWF now has 133 member churches in 73
countries representing 60.5 million of the world's 64 million Lutherans.
  "The central point of the current [CEAS] plan is to establish a
targeted supplementary feeding program for children under five years old
through a network of 14 food distribution points.  The total number of
children to be targeted is 2,800, with a further 4,200 at-risk family
members to be assisted as well," Ishida said.  "Clinical malnutrition
rates are exceeding 20 percent, especially among children."
  Coordinated through the ELCA Division for Global Mission,
International Disaster Response helps relief agencies provide funds for
food, medicine, drinking water, emergency shelter and other materials
and supplies.  Funds are also used to rebuild communities and to repair
structures destroyed by major 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

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://listserv.elca.org/archives/elcanews.html