Lutherans Surpass $1 Million-Mark in 'Millions for Mitch' Campaign

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- "Millions for Mitch" -- a campaign that involves millions of Lutherans contributing millions of dollars for recovery efforts in Central America following the devastation of Hurricane Mitch -- has surpassed the $1 million-mark since the campaign began in November 1998. The World Hunger and Disaster Appeal of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) has received $1.6 million from congregations for distribution in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua.
"Our members' response to the tremendous human suffering caused by Hurricane Mitch has been overwhelming," said Lita Brusick Johnson, director for the ELCA World Hunger and Disaster Appeal. =20
Hurricane Mitch killed more than 10,000 people Oct. 29-31. The Category 5 hurricane was the strongest storm to hit 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 of people are homeless, and hundreds of thousands are isolated.
"This wonderful outpouring of financial help has enabled our church to respond quickly to immediate and desperate needs through our sister churches and partner agencies in Central America. It lays the foundation for our long-term response to what has been described as a 'disaster of biblical proportions,'" said Johnson.
The ELCA has provided $450,000 for Central America through Lutheran World Relief (LWR), the overseas relief and development agency of the ELCA and The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. LWR has been working with partner agencies in Central America dispatching millions of dollars in material and financial aid since the first weeks of the crisis.
Through Action by Churches Together (ACT), the ELCA has provided $220,000 for Central America and $10,000 for Honduras. The ELCA is a member of ACT, a worldwide network of churches, including the Lutheran World Federation, meeting human need through coordinated emergency response. The ELCA is one of the 124 member churches of the Lutheran World Federation.
The ELCA has provided the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Nicaragua with $72,000 for potable water, food and medicine, housing and the "reactivation of the local economy." The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Honduras received $10,000, and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Guatemala received $10,000 from the ELCA. =20
"The remainder of the $1.6 million is in the process for distribution in Central America," said Belletech Deressa, director for international development and disaster response in the ELCA Division for Global Mission.
"We have promised our brothers and sisters in Central America to walk with them on the long path to recovery -- recovery that could take a decade," Johnson said. "The continuing support of our members in the coming months will ensure that long-term help is available for those often forgotten in disasters -- the poor and persons with special needs." =20
Gifts to "Millions for Mitch" or "Hurricane Mitch" are used for church-related relief and recovery efforts under way primarily in Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua.

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=20
Church Street Station=20
P.O. Box 6186=20
New York, NY 10277-1738=20
1-800-LWR-LWR-2
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For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://www.elca.org/co/news/current.html