CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) have sent a total of $145,000 to support humanitarian efforts in Sudan, where fighting and militia attacks have led to a massive displacement of people in various regions of the African country.
"The crisis in Sudan continues to worsen and the needs are increasing," said the Rev. Y. Franklin Ishida, director for leadership development and mission personnel recruitment, ELCA Division for Global Mission. The situation there is being described as one of the world's worst current humanitarian crises, he said.
Through the ELCA International Disaster Response, members of the church sent funds to Action by Churches Together (ACT) for implementation by Norwegian Church Aid, which is working to provide adequate water and sanitation services for Sudanese refugees in Chad.
In a separate appeal for funds by ACT, Lutherans also sent funds to support the work of the Sudan Council of Churches, a member of ACT, which is targeting aid to thousands of people who have been identified as the most vulnerable, and who have yet to receive any form of assistance in the upper Nile region of Sudan. The council will provide people with food and other necessities.
Coordinated by the ELCA Division for Global Mission, ELCA International Disaster Response often channels its funds through international church organizations and relief agencies.
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), both in Geneva, Switzerland. The ELCA is a member of WCC and LWF.
"ACT is teaming up with Caritas Internationalis, a confederation of Catholic agencies," to address the humanitarian crisis in Sudan, said Ishida.
Lutheran World Relief Receives $500,000 Grant
Lutheran World Relief (LWR) received a $500,000 grant from The Pierre and Pamela Omidyar Fund of the Peninsula Community Foundation, Menlo Park, Calif. The Omidyars are the founders of eBay. LWR works overseas in relief and development on behalf of the ELCA and the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.
According to a news release issued by LWR Aug. 5, the grant is one of the largest gifts in LWR's history. The grant was given to help people "in greatest danger" in western Sudan.
"We are honored by the Omidyars' gift and their recognition of LWR's track record of success and accomplishments in humanitarian work around the world," said Kathryn Wolford, LWR president, Baltimore.
"Through the Omidyars' generous gift, we already are providing life-saving assistance, including water, sanitation and shelter to vulnerable persons displaced by the conflict. Even as we meet immediate needs today, it is with a longer term vision of restoring dignity, livelihoods and re-weaving the social fabric that is torn apart in such situations," Wolford said.
LWR is using the grant to "protect people forced from their homes by raiding militia in the past year. These people, who live under harsh conditions, now are facing disease and malnutrition," stated the LWR news release. LWR is also urging the U.S. government and United Nations to "pressure the government of Sudan to ensure security in Darfur in order to allow aid to arrive and people to return to their homes."
LWR, ACT and Caritas Internationalis are seeking $17.5 million for their work in Darfur, located in western Sudan.
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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, or at http://www.elca.org/scriptlib/dcm/giving/idisaster.asp on the Internet.
Information about domestic and international disasters and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's response are available at http://www.elca.org/disaster/ on the Internet. Information about Lutheran World Relief is available at http://www.elca.org/disaster/ on the Internet.
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org
http://www.elca.org/news
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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
