Senegal Floods

 

		Check or money orders sent to: ELCA Int'l Disaster Response Attn: Senegal Floods PO Box 71764 Chicago, IL 60694-1764 write "Senegal Floods" on your check's memo line.   credit card by phone: 800.638.3522 or online. Credit card contributions may also be made via mail.

The Situation:

The 2009 rainy season in West Africa has caused extensive flooding affecting hundreds of thousands of people, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Flooding has touched the lives of residents of Senegal, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Niger, Mauritania, Chad, Sierra Leone and Nigeria.

In Senegal, over 100,000 people have been affected along the outskirts of the capital city, Dakar, according to OCHA. The government activated an emergency response plan at the end of August, calling on public, private and non-governmental actors to intervene. While response continues, families struggle to regain normal living conditions. Flooded areas have now become breeding grounds for mosquitoes spreading malaria and are increasing the danger of waterborne diseases such as cholera and diarrhea - children are especially vulnerable to these threats.

ELCA Response:

The ELCA has committed $25,000 for immediate response efforts carried out through our companions the Lutheran Church of Senegal (Eglise luthérienne du Sénégal) and Communiter Center of Galle Nanondiral (CCGN). CCGN has been working in collaboration with the local government to respond to the immediate health, hygiene and sanitary needs of affected residents in Yeumbeul, just outside the city of Dakar.

With gifts from the ELCA, CCGN will disseminate needed soaps and detergents for cleaning, mosquito nets and medicines for Malaria/disease prevention, and other essential  household/temporary housing needs such as food basics, tents and bedding for 15 known families displaced.

What you can do:

Pray:

Please pray for the people of Yeumbeul and all of West Africa as they recover and continue their lives after the floods. Include these prayers in your personal time of devotion and in your Congregation Prayers.

Study and Share:

In addition to what you find in the media, look at the following.  
      ReliefWeb

Return here periodically for updates.

Give:

Information on giving is provided in the box on the right “How You Can Help.” Your gift will be used in full to bring life sustaining support to this crisis. Thank you for your prayerful consideration. Funding is vitally needed at this time.


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