Lutherans Support Drought Relief Efforts in Eastern Africa

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- International Disaster Response of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) has provided $470,000 to support drought and famine relief efforts in eastern Africa.
The drought situation in Ethiopia is getting worse every day, said the Rev. Y. Franklin Ishida, director for international communication, ELCA Division for Global Mission. More than 10 million people are affected, and more than 1 million metric tons of food is needed to feed the affected population and to prevent famine conditions from spreading, he said.
Ishida said members of the Ethiopian Evangelical (Lutheran) Church Mekane Yesus, the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and Action by Churches Together (ACT) compare the current crisis to famine conditions that gripped Ethiopia in the mid-1980s.
"There are fears that any further delay in any humanitarian intervention will result in a huge catastrophe," Ishida said.
Members of the ELCA sent an initial $150,000 in response to an appeal for funds from ACT, 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 Geneva, Switzerland. The ELCA is a member of both the WCC and LWF. LWF is a global communion of 131 member churches in 72 countries representing 59.5 million of the world's 63 million Lutherans.
The ELCA sent $75,000 to Lutheran World Relief (LWR) for food distribution in Ethiopia, Ishida said. LWR is the overseas relief and development ministry of the ELCA and The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. In June 2000 the ELCA sent $150,000 to support LWR relief efforts in Ethiopia.
Drought conditions in northern Kenya have claimed human lives and the loss of thousands of livestock, according to Ishida. "The rain has failed to commence, and international food assistance is crucial in saving lives. It has been four consecutive seasons since a satisfactory harvest was realized in many parts of the country," he said.
The president of Kenya, Daniel Arap Moi, has declared the drought situation "a national disaster" and has appealed for international support, Ishida said.
The ELCA sent an initial $25,000 in response to an appeal from ACT for Kenya The funds will help provide food, medicine, sanitation materials and seeds for planting.
Drought conditions have caused "acute" food shortages in Tanzania, said Ishida. Nine regions in the country are facing food shortages. They are Arusha, Morogoro, Dodoma, Singida, Shinyanga, Mwanza, Kilimanjaro, Tanga and Tabora.
The ELCA sent $50,000 in response to an appeal for funds by ACT and an additional $20,000 to the Central Diocese of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania, said Ishida.
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:

ELCA International Disaster Response
PO Box 71764
Chicago, IL 60694-1764
1-800-638-3522

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