CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Northwest Synod of Wisconsin, based in Rice Lake, collected $39,000 this month for food distribution in Malawi, after cyclones and floods destroyed crops and livestock in the southern African nation last year.
"People in Malawi are dying from starvation," said the Rev. Robert D. Berg, bishop of the ELCA Northwest Synod of Wisconsin. People in the rural areas of Malawi "cannot afford to buy food and some 'had resorted to eating roots and leaves,'" Berg said, citing a newspaper article.
The Northwest Synod of Wisconsin is one of 65 synods in the ELCA and includes 211 congregations with 105,545 baptized members.
After learning about the food crisis in Malawi in a local newspaper Feb. 20, members of the synod organized the "Malawi Relief Fund" as a way for congregations to respond to food needs in Malawi, and "because the synod shares a companion relationship with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Malawi," Berg said. The Rev. Joseph Bvumbwe, bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Malawi, endorsed the synod's plans, Berg reported.
"We got word out about the fund electronically. About 97 percent of our congregations are accessible via the Internet," Berg said. Monetary gifts to support the fund were collected during worship on March 3 and March 10.
Gifts collected under the Malawi Relief Fund were sent to the International Disaster Response, ELCA Division for Global Mission. "The division provided additional funds to make the ELCA's total contribution $50,000 to International Disaster Response," said Ishida. Funds sent by the ELCA for food aid in Malawi were delivered to Action by Churches Together (ACT) for implementation by the Evangelical Lutheran Development Program (ELDP).
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.
ACT is a worldwide network of churches and related agencies that meets human need through organized emergency response. ACT is based with the World Council of Churches (WCC) and Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in Geneva, Switzerland. The ELCA is a member of both the WCC and LWF.
The ELDP and other church-related agencies will distribute food in several Malawi districts, said the Rev. Y. Franklin Ishida, director for international communication, ELCA Division for Global Mission.
"Maize will be distributed to about 37,500 families. ELDP will distribute a highly nutritious food mix called Likuni Phala to about 17,000 malnourished children under five years of age," he said.
The ELDP reported that "most people in rural areas of Malawi do not have adequate income to purchase the little food available on the market. This has forced many households to stay without food for long periods of time. Some families have tried to survive on wild fruits and roots and, at times, that has led to deaths. Some fruits are poisonous. In their desperation some people did not realize this," said Ishida.
In the last six months, the Malawi government has considered making maize imported from South Africa available on the market. "The transportation of this maize into Malawi has been problematic and most selling points do not have the maize. At some distribution points people have been waiting in long lines for hours," Ishida said.
"Women and children are the most vulnerable groups because, in some cultural set-ups, women and children are the last to receive food after the men have had their share," he said.
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.
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