wfn.org | ELCA International Disaster Response Continues Worldwide

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ELCA NEWS SERVICE

September 3, 2002

ELCA INTERNATIONAL DISASTER RESPONSE CONTINUES WORLDWIDE
02-211-MR

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- International Disaster Response of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) continues to provide funds
for food, medicine, drinking water, emergency shelter and other
materials for survivors of disasters in Afghanistan, Burundi, Madagascar
and the Middle East.
     Coordinated by the ELCA Division for Global Mission, International
Disaster Response often channels its funds through international church
organizations and relief agencies.

AFGHANISTAN
     Two decades of war in Afghanistan, including a decade-long Soviet
occupation, inter-ethnic conflicts, severe drought and other natural
disasters, and reprisals after last year's Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on
the United States, have destroyed the basic economic foundation of the
Afghan society, said the Rev. Y. Franklin Ishida, director for
international communication, ELCA Division for Global Mission.
     "The assets and reserves of Afghans have vanished, lives have been
lost, properties and houses destroyed or extensively damaged.  According
to some reports, 60 percent of the infrastructure of Afghanistan is
completely destroyed," Ishida said.
     Government infrastructure has collapsed, including the ability to
deliver the most basic health resources, education and other social
services, he said.  The return of many refugees into Afghanistan puts
further pressure on those limited services.
     ELCA International Disaster Response sent $50,000 to support the
work of Church World Service (CWS) in Afghanistan this summer.  CWS's
work is concentrated in the Shomali Valley, north of Kabul.  Work there
includes assisting with the resettlement of families, providing
materials to build homes, helping families to maintain their dignity and
supporting community life.  The ELCA participates in the work of CWS.
     Since last year ELCA International Disaster Response has sent
$300,000 to Action by Churches Together (ACT) for implementation by CWS
and Norwegian Church Aid to support humanitarian relief efforts in
Afghanistan.
     ACT is a worldwide network of churches and related agencies that
meets human need through organized emergency response.  It 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 LWF and WCC.

BURUNDIAN REFUGEES IN TANZANIA
  Despite the signing of the Arusha Peace Accord in August 2000,
civil conflict continues in Burundi, a country south of Rwanda and west
of Tanzania in equatorial Africa.  Fighting and insecurity are highest
in southeastern provinces of Burundi; peaceful areas exist in northern
Burundi.
  Violence followed an October 1993 coup between ethnic groups that
resulted in the death of the democratically elected president.  The
violence that followed witnessed a massive movement of refugees into
Tanzania.  Tanganyika Christian Refugee Service (TCRS), in collaboration
with the United Nations, has been managing refugee camps since 1994.
Additional camps were established between 1996 and 1999.  There are
about 150,000 Burundian refugees in Tanzania.
  In January 2002 the United Nations High Commission for Refugees
began facilitating a voluntary repatriation to peaceful areas in
northern Burundi, but many refugees are in the south-eastern provinces,
Ishida said.
  "Despite the fact that conditions in Burundi do not yet allow for
the promotion of repatriation, TCRS would like to assist those who wish
to return at their own risk to the safer northern areas of the country,"
Ishida said.
  The life of the refugees remaining in the camps is filled with
constraints and hardships, he said.
  "Over the last three years the funding for the Burundian refugees
has decreased to the point that basic needs provision has dipped below
the generally accepted humanitarian standards.  Even more drastic cuts
are planned in the 'less essential' areas of refugee education, self-
sufficiency, peace and reconciliation.  TCRS is proposing an assistance
program that comprises activities vital for refugee well-being and
dignity, as well as the eventual healing of the root causes of the
ethnic conflict," said Ishida.
  Relief work will include the replacement of deteriorated water and
sanitation facilities, replacement of worn-out cooking utensils, support
for information and resource centers on the situation in Burundi,
facilitation of repatriation, peace education and conflict
transformation, and advocacy for rights of refugees.
  Assistance for Burundi refugees is being coordinated by ACT
utilizing the resources of the LWF and WCC.   The ELCA sent $30,000
through ACT for implementation by LWF World Service and TCRS for its
relief work in Burundi.

MADAGASCAR
  Every year, there is one catastrophe -- drought, grasshopper
plague, rains that come at the wrong time, insects in seeds, or national
politics -- that affects people living in southern Madagascar, Ishida
said.
  The Malagasy Lutheran Church, based in Antananarivo, is assisting
with the digging of new wells, some as deep as 70 meters, to bring
sources of clean water to five areas including 34 villages.  The church
has requested funds to support this work, along with funds to purchase
stock seed, hand-operating grinding mills, plows, motorized pumps, solar
ovens, and bicycles for church workers, said Ishida.  "There has been
success in the past in using these items, and the church hopes to
continue this as a means toward famine prevention," he said.
  The ELCA has responded to the request by sending $126,000 to the
Malagasy Lutheran Church.  An additional $50,000 has been sent to assist
with well-digging, said Ishida.

MIDDLE EAST
  The devastation and destruction to Palestinian homes and towns in
the Middle East continue, bringing the humanitarian crisis to its peak,
Ishida said.
  "In spite of multiple restrictions and barriers hindering
accessibility to hard-hit areas, aid agencies are making remarkable
progress with addressing the needs of the vulnerable.  However,
considering the magnitude of the crisis" in the Middle East between
Israelis and Palestinians, "international assistance provided to date
remains 'a drop in the ocean,'" he said.
  LWF World Service has decided to expand the scope of relief beyond
its Augusta Victoria Hospital program and "embark on a new emergency
program that will entail distribution of food and non-food aid to the
under-attended population of people," Ishida said.
  In addition to its hospital, LWF has targeted Jenin and
surrounding areas, including villages in the Israeli-occupied West Bank,
to receive emergency distribution of food and baby formula, medicine and
medical supplies for medical facilities, and medicine and medical
supplies for the emergency dialysis center at Augusta Victoria Hospital.
The hospital, located on the Mount of Olives, Jerusalem, is open to all
people but most of its patients are Palestinians.
  The ELCA sent $50,000 to ACT for implementation by LWF and Augusta
Victoria Hospital this summer.
  The ELCA had already sent $100,000 in response to the crisis in
the Middle East.  Half of the funds were earmarked for the Middle East
Council of Churches and the Near East Council of Churches to support
their relief work.  The remaining $50,000 was allocated for LWF and
Augusta Victoria Hospital.
-- -- --
  Details on the ELCA's International Disaster Response can be found
at http://www.elca.org/dgm/disaster/current.html on the Web.

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