CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) contributed $60,000 to the church's International Disaster Response fund to provide emergency assistance to people in Bangladesh, after months of high-speed winds and flood waters caused destruction in the northwestern, western and southern parts of the country.
More than 30 people have died, several hundred are injured and thousands more are homeless. Thousands of others have been forced to move to safer places, said the Rev. Y. Franklin Ishida, director for international communication, ELCA Division for Global Mission. Standing crops, houses, educational institutions, road and embankments have been damaged, he added.
"At present people need food, shelter, winter clothing and medical assistance. After the crisis phase, people will need housing, agriculture assistance and income generating projects," Ishida said.
"The main goal is to alleviate the suffering of the most vulnerable, flood-affected families by providing life sustaining necessities. Intended target groups for care include the very poor, the destitute, women and widows who are not able to recover from the loss of whatever little they possessed," he said.
Church-related organizations, including Lutheran World Federation's (LWF) Rangpur Ninajpur Service and the Church of Bangladesh Social Development Programmes, are addressing the needs of people in Bangladesh. These organizations are members of Action by Churches Together (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 Switzerland. The ELCA is a member of both the WCC and LWF. The funds sent by the ELCA will help support relief efforts coordinated through ACT. The ELCA International Disaster Response sent $25,000 to LWF's Rangpur Ninajpur Rural Service; $25,000 to the Church of Bangladesh Social Development Programmes and KOINONIA; and $10,000 to Lutheran Health Care Bangladesh, a mission outreach of the ELCA operating in southern rural Bangladesh. It serves 100,000 people in the area of Dumki in the Patuakhali District. 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
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
