CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Action by Churches Together (ACT) has provided emergency assistance to victims of a January earthquake in China. Working through the Amity Foundation, ACT distributed tents and blankets, noodles, wheat flour and bread in the hardest hit areas.
Parts of Hebei Province were hit by an earthquake Jan. 10 killing 50 people and leaving 44,000 people homeless. Hebei is situated about 400 miles north of Beijing. ACT has provided $60,000 for relief work in Hebei.
Amity Foundation is a Chinese church-related agency. ACT is a worldwide network of churches, including the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), meeting human need through coordinated emergency response. The LWF is a Geneva-based communion of 124 member church bodies including the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
An Amity staff person reported that the tents were a big help. "The tremor had happened so quickly that the survivors could hardly accept the fact that their homes had become ruins in just a wink," he said. "In the cold weather, many people could do nothing but dig into the stacks of straws to keep warm."
Amity reports that, in the Hailiutu Township alone, 48 schools have been seriously affected, either flattened, or damaged.
For information contact:
Ann Hafften, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://www.elca.org/co/news/current.html
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About the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:
The ELCA is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with 2.8 million members in more than 8,500 worshiping communities across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region. Known as the church of "God's work. Our hands.," the ELCA emphasizes the saving grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, unity among Christians and service in the world. The ELCA's roots are in the writings of the German church reformer Martin Luther.
For information contact:
Candice Hill Buchbinder
Public Relations Manager
Candice.HillBuchbinder@ELCA.org
