CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Lutherans in the United States and Caribbean are working together to assist immediate response and long-term recovery efforts in Central America following the devastation of Hurricane Mitch. "Millions for Mitch" is a campaign involving millions of Lutherans in contributing millions of dollars.
Hurricane Mitch killed more than 10,000 people Oct. 29-31. The Category 5 hurricane was the strongest storm in the Atlantic Ocean since Hurricane Gilbert in 1988. Damages were catastrophic, with ships lost in the Caribbean Sea and deaths caused by flooding and mud slides in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and Nicaragua. Millions are homeless, and hundreds of thousands are isolated.
The 5.2 million-member Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the 2.6 million-member Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS) are coordinating their responses to the disaster through their overseas relief and development agency, Lutheran World Relief (LWR). As a member of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), the ELCA is also responding through Action by Churches Together (ACT) -- a worldwide network of churches meeting human need through coordinated emergency response.
Gifts marked "Millions for Mitch" or "Hurricane Mitch" will be used for church-related relief and recovery efforts already under way -- primarily in Honduras and Nicaragua, but also in El Salvador and Guatemala.
The ELCA, LCMS and LWR have already contributed more than $100,000 in funds and material goods. This figure includes $30,000 the ELCA has sent in initial assistance: $15,000 to The Nicaraguan Lutheran Church of Faith and Hope (ILNFE); $10,000 to ACT for work in Honduras; and $5,000 to the Augustinian Lutheran Church in Guatemala. LWR is organizing four shipping containers of relief supplies, after committing $75,000 worth of aid early in the crisis with help from LCMS World Relief and the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod.
The Rev. Victoria Cortez Rodriguez, ILNFE president, asked the ELCA for funds to help the Nicaraguan church provide food, shelter and medicine. In the aftermath of flooding, one of the greatest concerns is disease control. Mycosis, malaria, dengue, cholera, respiratory illnesses, diarrhea and conjunctivitis are among the health risks facing the region. Malnutrition will also be a factor in the months ahead.
Port officials in Puerto Cortes on the Caribbean coast of Honduras have reported that ships can now safely berth there, according to ACT-Christian Commission for Development in Honduras (CCD). All assistance that comes to CCD will be dispatched quickly and without customs charges, ACT said.
In El Salvador the LWF Department for World Service has formed an emergency committee with the Salvadoran Lutheran Synod and The Episcopal Church. The committee is working with local parishes and Lutheran youth brigades to distribute emergency shelter, generic medicine and food.
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:
Lutheran World Relief
390 Park Avenue South
New York, NY 10016
212-532-6350
For information contact:
Frank Imhoff, Assoc. Director 1-773-380-2955 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
