wfn.org | LWF New Year Message: Call for Greater Commitment to

["Frank Imhoff" <Frank.Imhoff@elca.org>]

LWF New Year Message: Call for Greater Commitment to Children’s Welfare,
Environmental Protection The Pain of Children’s Vulnerability in Tsunami
Disaster

GENEVA, 31 December 2004 (LWI) * Against the backdrop of thousands of children
killed in the December 26 earthquake and tidal waves that struck South East
Asia and East Africa, the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) New Year Message is
a call to religious communities and societies in general to prioritize the
welfare of children and environmental protection in their work.

In the message released today and addressed to all LWF member churches,
national committees and related and supporting agencies, LWF General Secretary
Rev. Dr Ishmael Noko notes that 2005 begins with pain in view of the tragic
images of helpless children swept away by the tsunami tidal waves and their
parents’ inability to save them.

"The vulnerability of children has been brought home to all of us in a
significant way during the Christmas season," he says. "We should learn from
this in such a way that we place the needs of children at the center of our
priorities and planning in our religious communities and in our societies."

According to media reports, children comprise about one third of the over
120,000 people so far confirmed dead in the tsunami disaster. The catastrophe
occurred when a 9.0-magnitude undersea earthquake struck the island of
Sumatra, triggering violent tidal waves in Indonesia, Thailand, India, Sri
Lanka and East Africa.

Noko points to the urgent need to shift priorities in the area of
environmental protection. Deforestation along the coastlines, in part to make
room for resorts, has contributed significantly to the destructive impact of
the recent tidal wave, he says. "Would children, estimated to make up one
third of all the casualties and wounded, have fared better in this catastrophe
had more of the natural habitat been protected?" he asks.

The LWF in its diaconal work is also concerned about other aspects of
children’s vulnerability worldwide including recruitment as child soldiers,
increasing sexual exploitation and drug trafficking. Equally important are
the increasing numbers of HIV/AIDS orphans and child-headed households in
communities severely affected by the pandemic, Noko says in his New Year
Message.

Pointing to the LWF member churches’ great educational resources, the
general secretary calls for a rethinking of the churches’ contribution to
the welfare of children and future of societies. Education, he concludes, "can
truly be the key to a world without discrimination and violence, to a world of
tolerance and peace." (411 words)

The full text of the New Year Message from LWF General Secretary Noko follows:

New Year Message from the General Secretary of the Lutheran World Federation,
Rev. Dr Ishmael Noko

LWF Member Church LWF National Committe Related and supporting agenci       es

For my New Year’s message to the LWF member churches this year, I had
intended to focus my reflection on the general situation of children.

Before issuing my message, however, the entire world was gripped by the
catastrophe that has struck so many different countries. The continents of
Asia and Africa have suffered enormous human and material losses. But many
nations outside these two regions have also been tragically affected by loss
of human life, and high numbers of people are still unaccounted for.

As the international community including the LWF does its utmost to respond to
this disaster, the vulnerability of children has been brought home to all of
us in a significant way during the Christmas season. Fresh are the images of
frightened children torn from their parents’ arms, unable to swim and hold
on to any thing or run fast enough to safe ground.

This rare incomprehensible tragedy reminds us starkly of the needs of children
worldwide also in the longer perspective. The flood tragedy has shown movingly
that adults, faced with extreme threats, do all they can to save children. We
should learn from this in such a way that we place the needs of children at
the center of our priorities and planning in our religious communities and in
our societies.

There is an urgent need for a shift of priorities in the area of environmental protection. It seems entirely clear that environmental destruction, e.g.
by deforestation along the coastlines, in part to make room for resorts, has
contributed significantly to the destructive impact of the recent tidal wave.

Would children, estimated to make up one third of all the casualties and
wounded, have fared better in this catastrophe had more of the natural habitat
been protected?

In addition to a healthy natural environment, children require adequate
social welfare, which is lacking in many countries. Children need effective
protection from corrupt intentions of some adults, with sexual exploitation
and trafficking of drugs to children apparently being on the rise.

In many countries children continue to be recruited and used as soldiers, and
to be obliged to take part in the most violent and atrocious acts, leading to
the destruction of their still fragile personhood.

Children are among the most vulnerable to the ravages of the HIV/AIDS crisis,
and the situation of AIDS orphans and child-headed households is of particular
concern to the LWF in its diaconal work. In some countries, children continue
to be subjected to the death penalty, in contradiction to established
international norms.

I think also about the enormous needs for children’s education as a means of
equipping them for life and of enabling them to contribute to the development
of their societies and of the whole ‘global village’. Education can
truly be the key to a world without discrimination and violence, to a world
of tolerance and peace. Many LWF member churches have great resources for
education. Can we rethink our contribution in this area to the welfare of
children and the future of our societies?

As we begin this New Year, it is my sincere prayer that every parent,
grandparent, godparent, citizen, church and government will do everything
within their power and imagination to work for the improved conditions of
children.

May we as religious communities uphold the importance of the rehabilitationof infrastructure after the tidal wave flooding, ensuring at the same time
that children are not marginalized in the rehabilitation process itself.

As we begin the New Year 2005 with pain that none of us can fathom, may God
comfort those who mourn and strengthen every home, community and country for
the sake of all. We recognize with gratitude all who are providing social and
pastoral care during this difficult time.

In Christ,

Rev. Dr Ishmael Noko General Secretary

Geneva 31 December 2004

(The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the Lutheran
tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund, Sweden, the LWF currently has 138 member
churches in 77 countries all over the world, with a membership of nearly 65
million Lutherans. The LWF acts on behalf of its member churches in areas
of common interest such as ecumenical and inter-faith relations, theology,
humanitarian assistance, human rights, communication, and the various aspects
of mission and development work. Its secretariat is located in Geneva,
Switzerland.)

[Lutheran World Information (LWI) is the LWF's information service. Unless
specifically noted, material presented does not represent positions or
opinions of the LWF or of its various units. Where the dateline of an article
contains the notation (LWI), the material may be freely reproduced with
acknowledgment.]

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