Two U.S. foundations' grants for rapid disaster response deliver quick relief to Kenyans in crisis
Editors: High resolution photos of displaced Kenyans and aid response available for download: www.churchworldservice.org/news/gallery/kenya
NEW YORK, Jan. 31, 2008 -- Two U.S. foundations have helped speed disaster relief to Kenyans displaced and threatened by the country's post-election violence, through their support of a new Emergency Response Revolving Fund.
The fund is part of a strategy by global humanitarian agency Church World Service (CWS) to improve the speed and effectiveness of immediate aid delivery when disasters strike around the globe.
Church World Service announced today that the Chicago-based Lloyd A. Fry Foundation and Baltimore-based Osprey Foundation have contributed a combined total of $400,000 to the relief, development and refugee protection agency's new Emergency Response Revolving Fund, saying an initial allocation from the fund was put to use in Kenya on January 2, immediately following the eruption of that countryâs post-election violence.
The Osprey Foundation has provided $300,000 and the Lloyd A. Fry Foundation $100,000 to the CWS rapid response disaster fund.
"In the case of Kenya, The Osprey and Lloyd A. Fry Foundations' sharp-sighted generosity have already helped prove the value of such a flexible rapid response funding capability" says Church World Service Emergency Response Program Director Donna Derr.
In responding to major disasters, CWS's Derr says, "Donations from our U.S. fundraising campaigns for a given emergency typically don't come in till four to six weeks after the disaster. But with a dedicated, revolving fund, we can have pre-positioned supplies and available cash to hasten aid delivery-including in those countries where CWS already has offices."
Initially CWS's enhanced rapid response effort is targeting Kenya, Indonesia, Pakistan and Afghanistan--disaster-prone regions where the agency is currently responding to crises--as well as potential future emergency needs in the United States.
In Kenya, on January 2, following initial news of people being attacked and displaced by clashes over the contested December 27 re-election of President Mwai Kibaki, Church World Service's East Africa office in Nairobi, through its local partner, the Kenya Evangelical Lutheran Church (KELC), began distributing emergency assistance at camps for the neediest of those displaced in Nairobi.
"People were traumatized, people were fleeing," says Dan Tyler, CWS East Africa Representative based in Nairobi. "Having such quick release of funds allowed us to rapidly obtain food and other material aid for immediate distribution."
To date, hundreds have been killed and more than 250,000 people displaced in regions mostly west of Nairobi.
The Osprey Foundation is also a supporter of Church World Service's Weapons for Water program in Mozambique, a program providing funding and training in the construction of community-owned and managed wells and clean water resources, sanitation, and related agricultural and water conservation methods.
The Lloyd A. Fry Foundation was founded in 1983, primarily to address the needs of the Chicago community and persistent urban problems resulting from poverty, violence, despair and lack of education, although the foundation occasionally elects to assist causes and charities beyond its stated regional focus.
Church World Service piloted its emergency revolving fund in Indonesia in late 2006. During 2007 CWS responded to 15 natural disasters in Indonesia within 72 hours of their occurrence, providing basic resources such as temporary shelters, mosquito nets, and cooking utensils.
In Kenya's ongoing turmoil, Church World Service is continuing its emergency response, working with the Kenya Evangelical Lutheran Church and with member agencies of the international Action By Churches Together (ACT) collaboratio n.
Media Contact: Lesley Crosson, CWS/New York, 212-870-2676; lcrosson@churchworldservice.org Jan Dragin, 781-925-1526; jdragin@gis.net