Title: ELCA Provides $1 Million to Build Homes in Tsunami-Stricken Indonesia ELCA NEWS SERVICE
June 12, 2006
ELCA Provides $1 Million to Build Homes in Tsunami-Stricken Indonesia 06-079-MRC
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- International Disaster Response of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is providing $1 million to help build homes and communities in Indonesia after a Dec. 26, 2004, earthquake in the Indian Ocean produced a tsunami that left some 170,000 people dead or missing in northern Sumatra.
"Rebuilding homes is a high priority. The generous gifts given by our members over the past year will become walls and roofs, providing permanent shelter for those who lost everything when the tsunami swept away so much in Indonesia," said the Rev. Rafael Malpica-Padilla, executive director, ELCA Global Mission.
The $1 million will be disbursed in several installments. The first allocation of $300,000 was provided June 1 to Action by Churches Together (ACT) for implementation by Yakkum Emergency Unit (YEU), an Indonesian disaster response organization. The funds will be used to support the rebuilding of more than 200 homes in Kuala Bubon, a fishing village in northwestern Sumatra that was swept away by the tsunami.
The ELCA is a member of ACT -- a global alliance of churches and related agencies working to save lives and support communities in emergency situations worldwide. It is based with the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), both in Geneva, Switzerland. The ELCA is a member of the WCC and LWF.
Coordinated by ELCA Global Mission, International Disaster Response channels its funds through international church organizations and relief agencies. Funds provide for food, medicine, drinking water, emergency shelter and other materials for survivors of disasters.
"Given the incredible destruction caused by the tsunami, rehabilitation will take years, and the ELCA will accompany its companions as they assist survivors on the long path to recovery," said Malpica-Padilla. "At the same time the ELCA is supporting its Indonesian companions as they respond to the massive earthquake in Java (May 27), a disaster of immense proportions that requires a major response from the international community," he said.
ELCA engaged in a five-year disaster response plan for tsunami- affected areas
The tsunami killed more than a quarter of a million people in East Africa and South Asia. In response, members of the ELCA contributed about $11 million to support a five-year tsunami disaster response plan. Coordinated by ELCA Global Mission, ELCA International Disaster Response developed a series of principles to guide its response. The principles include "walking with" survivors and communities to rebuild livelihoods and strengthen communities, supporting partner organizations and companion churches, and helping churches to be more prepared for future disasters.
The ELCA is in phases two and three, otherwise known as the "rebuilding phase," according to the Rev. Joseph Chu, program director for Asia and the Pacific, ELCA Global Mission. Those phases include a $2 million grant to Lutheran World Relief (LWR) for Sri Lanka relief and rehabilitation, and $300,000 to the United Evangelical Lutheran Church in India for Jubilee Village start-up funds. Funds will also be given to Church World Service (CWS) and YEU for relief and rebuilding in Indonesia. LWR, Baltimore, is an overseas relief and development ministry of the ELCA and Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. The ELCA participates in the work of CWS.
ELCA International Disaster Response distributed $1.37 million in "immediate relief" of phase one. It is committed to long-term relief and recovery efforts in tsunami-affected areas. The distribution of funds will be considered over a period of time in response to particular needs for the rebuilding of communities and people's lives. Information about the disbursement of funds is available at http://www.ELCA.org/disaster/article.asp?id=20&mode=1 on the ELCA Web site. - - - 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 and http://www.ELCA.org/disaster/idrgive on the Internet.
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org http://www.elca.org/news ELCA News Blog: http://www.elca.org/news/blog