Nov. 23, 2007, Burlington, Ont. - The Christian Reformed World Relief Committee (www.crwrc.org <http://www.crwrc.org/> ) is extending its response to the devastating cyclone that struck Bangladesh on Nov. 15.
Thanks to funding from the Canadian Foodgrains Bank, the emergency response is being extended into a one-month food distribution plan. The plan will be executed together with three partner agencies: Lutheran Health Care Bangladesh, Food for the Hungry International, and Bangladesh Nazarene Mission.
The aid will consist of food packets for 10,000 families. Packets will contain rice, lentils, soybean oil, and salt. The distribution area will include Bargerhat, Barguna, and Patuakhali. Several hundred packets have already been distributed in Barguna.
CRWRC also plans a non-food response. Functioning as the lead agency for Canadian Churches in Action (CCA), CRWRC will work with local agencies to address health, shelter, and access to household goods in the affected areas. This will include the distribution of oral rehydration salts, water purification tablets, roofing sheets, blankets, clothing, and cooking pots.
The CCA was formed in June 2007 after two years of joint collaborations, including the tsunami response and the South Asia earthquake. This coalition was formed with the intent of responding to non-food needs as a result of disasters.
Member agencies are: Canadian Baptist Ministries, Canadian Lutheran World Relief, Christian Reformed World Relief Committee, Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada - ERDO, Mennonite Central Committee, Nazarene Compassionate Ministries, Primate's World Relief and Development Fund, Presbyterian World Service and Development, and the United Church of Canada.
To donate to CRWRC's Bangladesh cyclone response, give online at www.crwrc.org <http://www.crwrc.org/> and designate your gift "Bangladesh Floods 2007."
For more information about the Bangladesh cyclone response, call Jacob Kramer, CRWRC International Relief Director, at 1-800-730-3490. For information about CRWRC's other relief and development programs, call Beth DeGraff at 1-800-55-CRWRC or visit www.crwrc.org <http://www.crwrc.org/> .
CRWRC is a non-profit agency of the Christian Reformed Church in North America providing a ministry of development, relief, and justice education to people in need around the world. CRWRC is currently active in 30 countries and has an international reputation for "helping people help themselves."
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Henry Hess
Director of Communication
Christian Reformed Church
To learn more about the Christian Reformed Church visit us at www.crcna.org <http://www.crcna.org
"It is a serious waste to let a day go by without allowing God to change us."-Richard Rolle, The Fire of Love