CHICAGO (ELCA) -- International Disaster Response of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) provided $150,000 this month to support famine relief efforts in Ethiopia, located in eastern Africa.
The famine is affecting more than 8 million people in Ethiopia, according to the Rev. Y. Franklin Ishida, director for international communication, ELCA Division for Global Mission. "The famine situation is getting worse every day."
Ishida said relief interventions need to speed up. "If the situation is allowed to worsen, the high-risk areas of Ethiopia face a potentially major humanitarian disaster."
A disaster of such magnitude will wipe out the modest developmental gains of the last few years, requiring extensive resources for recovery in years to come, he said.
In addition to famine, there have been fires burning in forests of the Oromia region, Ishida reported. The fires are burning out of control, destroying coffee plantations and other crops, and creating more famine in regions that produce food, he said.
The funds sent by the ELCA will help support a $12 million appeal by the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and Action by Churches Together (ACT). ACT and LWF may increase the amount of the appeal in the near future.
ACT is a worldwide network of churches and related agencies meeting human need through coordinated emergency response. ACT is based with the World Council of Churches (WCC) and LWF in Switzerland. The ELCA is a member of both the WCC and LWF. Members of the ELCA contribute funds to the church's International Disaster Response fund. Coordinated through the ELCA Division for Global Mission, International Disaster Response helps relief agencies provide funds for food, medicine, drinking water, emergency shelter, and other materials and supplies. Funds are also used to rebuild communities and to repair structures destroyed by major disasters. -- -- -- -- 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
PO Box 17061
Baltimore, MD 21298-9832
1-800-LWR-LWR2
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://listserv.elca.org/archives/elcanews.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
