CHICAGO (ELCA) -- International Disaster Response of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) provided $50,000 Dec. 28 to support the work of Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in the Angola provinces of Moxico and Lunda Sul. People there have fled their homes as a result of civil conflict. Angola is located on the Atlantic coast of southern Africa, bordered by Namibia to the south.
"For years, the civil war in Angola has created many refugees," said the Rev. Y. Franklin Ishida, director for international communication, ELCA Division for Global Mission. "Ongoing fighting between the government and rebel forces has increased the number of internally-displaced people in Angola," he said.
LWF is opening a number of new camps to help "meet the needs of a new wave of displaced" people in Moxico and Lunda Sul, Ishida said. "The new camps have brought the total number of camps to 14 with a population of 80,000 people," he said.
Action by Churches Together (ACT), a worldwide network of churches and related agencies meeting human need through coordinated emergency response, has issued an appeal for funds to support relief and rehabilitation efforts among residents of Angola. 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 current appeal is aimed at providing kitchen sets, blankets, buckets, soap, salt, and plastic sheeting for more than 700 families," Ishida said. "Some structures can be established with grass, mud or bricks, but roofing material [plastic sheeting] is only available at the beginning of the dry season. During the rainy season, plastic sheeting is used to cover the ground to protect blankets and other materials on which to sleep," he said.
Water and sanitation materials will also be provided, Ishida said. Health care centers for women and children are being set up to provide preventative health care, childbirth training and HIV/AIDS education, he said.
"LWF's involvement in Angola dates back to 1985, when it initiated an emergency and relief program for displaced people fleeing civil war. This displaced population in Angola is about 3.8 million people. LWF is one of the major non-governmental organizations that continues to help displaced people in the country," he said.
Members of the ELCA contribute funds to the church's International Disaster Response for food, medicine, drinking water, emergency shelter and other materials and supplies. Funds are also sent to rebuild communities and to repair structures destroyed by major disasters.
LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the Lutheran tradition. Founded in 1947, the LWF now has 133 member churches in 73 countries representing 60.2 million of the world's nearly 64 million Lutherans.
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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
