CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) continue to provide shelter, food, water and medical assistance for refugees and displaced people in and around Afghanistan, especially for survivors of earthquakes and aftershocks that struck the northern part of that country Mar. 26.
"More than 1,000 people there have died as a result of the earthquakes," said the Rev. Y. Franklin Ishida, director for international communication, ELCA Division for Global Mission.
More than 3,000 people were injured after an earthquake shook villages north of Kabul in the Hindu Kush mountains, Ishida said. "People there live in mud-brick homes. The area is now devastated. Some 30,000 people are homeless," he said.
Since last fall, International Disaster Response fund, ELCA Division for Global Mission, committed $300,000 to Action by Churches Together (ACT) for implementation by the Church World Service and Norwegian Church Aid (members of ACT) to support humanitarian relief efforts in Afghanistan. The ELCA also responded to an earthquake there that killed more than 5,000 people in May 1998.
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. It 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.
ACT and its members, including the Middle East Council of Churches (with field offices in Iran) and Christian Aid (with field offices in Afghanistan and Pakistan), are providing emergency relief to people in need and on the move in Afghanistan.
"Specific work includes providing water and sanitary materials, shelter, blankets and medical assistance. ACT members are also distributing food provided by the United Nations World Food Programme. Oil, rice and sugar are being distributed through local partners in Afghanistan," Ishida said.
"The U.N. World Food Programme puts the number of people in Afghanistan who rely on and are in urgent need of food aid at more than 7 million people," he said.
"Providing aid to those affected by the former Taliban regime and the current U.S. military campaign continues. Despite the lingering security problems throughout the country, supplies are reaching the targeted people," Ishida said.
In southern Afghanistan, refugees are attempting to flee aerial bombing and ground combat "that continues sporadically," Ishida said.
"Most are unable to cross the border into Pakistan, which for months has officially prohibited the entry of new arrivals from Afghanistan. Border guards are nonetheless letting some elderly and women refugees across, and others are sneaking into the country on foot via smuggler routes. At least 60,000 internally-displaced people remain inside Afghanistan," he said.
For the past 24 years, Afghanistan has been hit by human-caused and natural disasters that have severely affected the lives and livelihoods of the entire population either directly or indirectly, Ishida said.
"The severity of the situation owes its origins to the widespread destruction of the social and economic fabrics of the Afghan society as a result of the ongoing armed conflict, extreme poverty and absence of social services. The collapse of state institutions is a contributing factor to the worsening of the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan," 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.
For information contact:
Candice Hill Buchbinder
Public Relations Manager
Candice.HillBuchbinder@ELCA.org
