Title: ELCA Responds to Disasters on Three Continents ELCA NEWS SERVICE
November 20, 2007
ELCA Responds to Disasters on Three Continents 07-196-FI
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), through its International Disaster Response, provided $173,500 to support recovery efforts in Indonesia, Nicaragua and Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe
Seen as the "breadbasket" of Southern Africa for years, Zimbabwe's economy is facing hyperinflation, said Dr. Belletech Deressa, director for international development and disaster response, ELCA Global Mission.
"The cost of basic commodities such as foodstuff has gone far beyond the reach of the average Zimbabwean," she said. "The biggest challenge facing the country is food shortages."
The United Nations called the crisis there a "triple threat" -- food insecurity, poor governance and the HIV and AIDS pandemic, Deressa said. "The socioeconomic situation in Zimbabwe currently calls for interventions to avert human suffering," she continued. Unemployment has reached 80 percent.
ELCA International Disaster Response sent $100,000 through Action by Churches Together (ACT) to implementing partners in Zimbabwe -- Christian Care and Lutheran Development Services. Those agencies "will continue to support humanitarian interventions in Zimbabwe in order to mitigate the impact of an enduring crisis on the most vulnerable population groups," said Deressa.
ACT is a global alliance of churches and related agencies working to save lives and support communities in emergency situations worldwide. It is based in Geneva with the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF). The LWF is a global communion of 140 Lutheran churches representing 66.7 million Christians. 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.
"We ask you to pray for peace and justice to prevail in Zimbabwe during these difficult times," Deressa said.
Nicaragua
Hurricane Felix was the third strongest hurricane to hit Central America in this decade, Deressa said. On Sept. 4 the storm struck Nicaragua's North Atlantic Autonomous Region. The government there reported 67 dead, 110 missing, 136 rescued and 162,373 people affected, she said.
"The rural locations of this region are geographically isolated," Deressa said. "In all these communities, water wells were contaminated, latrines were flooded, health centers and community houses were destroyed, houses were either damaged or totally destroyed, and crops were completely lost," she said. "People are threatened with starvation."
"Acute respiratory diseases have emerged since the families are out in the open air. This may have a higher impact on infants," Deressa said.
ELCA International Disaster Response sent $50,000 through ACT to implementing partners in Nicaragua -- Christian Medical Action and the Nicaraguan Lutheran Church of Faith and Hope (Iglesia Luterana de Nicaragua "Fe y Esperanza").
Indonesia
"Indonesia has become one of the countries in Asia that faces numerous natural disasters, including earthquakes that trigger tsunamis," Deressa said. A September earthquake off the coast of Sumatra damaged Lutheran churches in Mentawai and Bengkulu.
ELCA International Disaster Response sent $23,500 to the LWF Department for Mission and Development to assist in church restoration in Bengkulu, Deressa said. - - - 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