Lutherans Respond When Disaster Strikes in the World

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) continues to sustain life and restore structures damaged or destroyed by natural and human-made disasters. Coordinated through the ELCA Division for Global Mission, International Disaster Response is providing funds for food, medicine, drinking water, emergency shelter and other materials for survivors of disasters around the world.
"Natural and human-made disasters continue to disrupt livelihood and cause death to many people around the world almost every day," according to Belletech Deressa, director for international development and disaster response, ELCA Division for Global Mission.
"Church organizations are the first to help survivors of a disaster and the last to leave," Deressa said. "While stories about relief and recovery efforts eventually drop from news headlines, Lutherans continue to work to serve people in need."
Among current ELCA International Disaster Response work:
+ AFGHANISTAN. For the past 24 years, Afghanistan has been hit by various human-made and natural disasters that have affected the entire population, said Deressa.
Before the threat of reprisals in Afghanistan after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States, hundreds of thousands of people had already left their villages in Afghanistan for camps outside major cities, where they had heard food was available, Deressa said. "It was estimated that there were more than one million internally displaced people and millions of others stranded on the borders of Pakistan, Kazakstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and other neighboring countries."
Since last fall ELCA International Disaster Response fund has committed $300,000 to Action by Churches Together (ACT) for implementation by Church World Service and Norwegian Church Aid (members of ACT) to support humanitarian relief efforts in Afghanistan. The ELCA also responded to an earthquake that struck northern Afghanistan on March 26. The ELCA participates in the work of Church World Service.
+ ANGOLA. After 26 years of civil war, Angola is moving toward peace. Four million people are believed to have been internally displaced as a result of the civil war, according to Deressa.
The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) is the main humanitarian non- governmental organization in the eastern region of Angola, particularly the Moxico province, Deressa said. "LWF first became involved in the Republic of Angola in 1985, when it initiated an emergency relief program after people fled from the civil war," she said.
On May 21, the Division for Global Mission approved $100,000 from International Disaster Response to support recovery efforts in Angola. "We hope these funds will enable LWF to accompany the people in Angola. This is the time that international communities need to accompany people and rebuild the country that is still vulnerable," Deressa said.
+ CHECHNYA. Russia's armed forces moved into Chechnya in 1999, just one week after its air force began bombing the Chechen capital, Grozny. The Kremlin said the move was a reaction to Chechen participation in the invasion of Daghestan and bombings in Moscow, Volgodonsk and Buynaksk that left about 300 dead.
"Some reports indicate that there were 10,000 civilians in Chechnya killed since the beginning of the conflict. About 170,000 Chechens live as refugees in the neighboring Republic of Ingushitia and more than 160,000 are residing along the Chechen frontiers," Deressa said.
Members of the ELCA sent more than $17,000 to ACT to support humanitarian efforts in Chechnya.
+ DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO. The war that began in August1998 still continues today in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. "The humanitarian crisis there is being described as one of the worst in Africa. Hundred of thousands of displaced people cannot be reached because of inaccessibility and insecurity," Deressa said.
While the Democratic Republic of the Congo continues to suffer from civil war, the town of Goma -- located on the eastern mountain-edge of the Congo -- was destroyed when the Nyiragono Volcano erupted on Jan. 17. About 254 people were killed and 100,000 people became homeless. More than 50,000 families needed emergency assistance in Goma and its surrounding areas.
ELCA International Disaster Response funds -- $100,000 sent to ACT -- were used to help survivors of the volcano.
+ MALAWI. Heavy rainfall and "delayed" government response were some primary factors that contributed to the current food shortage in Malawi, a country east of Zambia in southern Africa. "Quite a number of lives have been lost, especially among women and children," said the Rev. Joseph Bvumbwe, bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Malawi.
"In 2000 and 2001, heavy rainfall produced flooding in the central and southern parts of the country," said Bvumbwe. "The Shire River, the only major outlet of big Lake Malawi, flooded and farmers in the Shire Valley lost crops," he said.
Drought conditions in the northern part of the country also had a negative effect on crop production, Bvumbwe said.
"The government of Malawi delayed in accepting the fact that the country was experiencing a food shortage," Bvumbwe said. Many households went without food for long periods of time. Thousands of children became severely malnourished, he said.
The government of Malawi made plans to make maize available from South Africa, but the transportation of maize into Malawi has been problematic, Bvumbwe said.
The acquisition of foreign cash in Malawi markets has also been problematic. "Tobacco is Malawi's main cash crop. Because of international campaigns against tobacco, it has been difficult for Malawi to sell tobacco to get foreign cash," Bvumbwe said. In order to secure that cash flow into the country, "maize crops in reserve had to be sold. That happened a year ago and, at that point, people were already starving."
Members of the ELCA responded to the food shortage in Malawi by sending $50,000 to ACT for implementation by the Evangelical Lutheran Development Programme in Malawi. Most of the funds were collected by congregations of the ELCA Northwest Synod of Wisconsin, based in Rice Lake. The synod shares a "companion relationship" with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Malawi.
+ ZIMBABWE. The current drought in Zimbabwe is expected to reduce grain harvest by 50 percent compared to last year, Deressa said.
"Resorting to one meal per day for a family has had a profound nutritional impact, especially on children, expectant mothers, the elderly and poor," she said.
"Human lives are already under serious threat due to this drought. Some deaths have been reported. The likelihood of water shortages as the year progresses is also noted, and the impact on the health status of people and animals could be considerable," Deressa said.
Members of the ELCA sent $50,000 May 21 through International Disaster Response to assist Lutheran Development Services in Zimbabwe. "The need is great and much will be needed in the future," she said.
ELCA International Disaster Response often channels its funds through international relief agencies like Lutheran World Relief -- the relief and development agency working overseas on behalf of the ELCA and the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, and the LWF -- 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.
"Last year, 69 different appeals for funds were made by ACT. Funds requested amounted to more than $114 million. Only $57.4 million was received, which is only 50 percent of the request," Deressa said.
ACT is a worldwide network of churches and related agencies meeting human need through coordinated