One Year After Tsunami, ELCA Funds Support Variety of Projects

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- In the year since the tsunami disaster caused by an earthquake in the Indian Ocean, gifts to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) for this disaster exceed $11 million. Nearly half of the $11 million has been approved or proposed for a variety of recovery projects in the affected countries.
ELCA congregations will mark the first anniversary of the disaster Dec. 26. Resources are available at http://www.elca.org/disaster on the ELCA Web site for congregational use including news reports, videos, bulletin inserts, a narrated slide show and photographs.
The Rev. Joseph Chu, program director, Asia/Pacific, ELCA Global Mission, said there are several things Lutherans can do to memorialize the first anniversary.
"First and foremost, Lutherans can remember the survivors in the various countries such as India, Indonesia, Somalia, Sri Lanka and Thailand," he said. Many people in those countries are still mourning the deaths of loved ones from the tsunami, Chu said.
Disasters in some countries are often compounded because of environmental and living conditions, he said. "That should be a reminder for all of us to think about as people of faith. What could we do in various parts of the world -- including our own backyard -- to help communities be stronger so that when disaster comes they will be better prepared?" Chu asked.
Chu said he hopes that as people remember the tsunami disaster, they will think of those suffering as a result of other disasters.
The work of partner relief and recovery organizations and churches in South Asia that responded to the tsunami disaster has been impressive, Chu said.
ELCA International Disaster Response is funding a five-year recovery and response effort, said the Rev. Y. Franklin Ishida, ELCA Global Mission.
"Those involved in relief efforts know that no amount of money can bring about a quick fix. A disaster of this magnitude requires years of careful attention," he said. "ELCA International Disaster Response promises to be there for the long haul."
"The devastating aftermath of the tsunami continues as survivors seek to rebuild their lives and mourn the dead," said the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, ELCA presiding bishop and president of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF).
"Through the generosity of contributors and the cooperation of agencies and governments we as the ELCA remain steadfastly committed to the long process of rebuilding lives and communities. The $11 million in contributions is testimony to our commitment," Hanson said.
ELCA International Disaster Response, through ELCA Global Mission, developed a series of principles to guide its five-year response plan. They include walking with survivors and communities to rebuild livelihoods and strengthen communities, supporting partner organizations and companion churches, and helping companion churches to be more prepared for future disasters.
The ELCA is working with a variety of partner churches and agencies. In Somalia, partners are Action by Churches Together (ACT) and Norwegian Church Aid; in Sri Lanka, ACT and the National Council of Churches in Sri Lanka; in India, the United Evangelical Lutheran Church in India (UELCI), the Church's Auxiliary for Social Action, Lutheran World Services India and other ecumenical partners; in Indonesia, ACT, Church World Service (CWS), Norwegian Church Aid; Yayasan Yanggul Bencana, Protestant Christian Batak Church and Yakkum Emergency Unit (YEU). Another partner agency receiving funds is Lutheran World Relief (LWR).
ACT International is a worldwide network of churches and related agencies that meets human need through organized emergency response. It is based in Geneva with the LWF and World Council of Churches (WCC). The ELCA is also a member of both.
ACT and its many implementers around the world commit themselves to the highest standard of accountability in their operations, Chu said. Each implementer has to adhere to a code of conduct, and is required to keep records and provide detailed reports at fixed intervals to ACT and donors, he said. Reports have to pass the scrutiny of ACT internal auditors and third party external auditors as well, Chu added.
CWS is a relief, development and refugee assistance ministry of 36 Protestant, Orthodox and Anglican denominations in the United States including the ELCA. LWR, Baltimore, is an overseas relief and development agency of the ELCA and Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.
Partner agencies and companion churches have provided health care services, food supplies, clean water and sanitation, housing and "psychosocial" support.
In January 2005 the ELCA responded to the South Asia Tsunami by sending a 10-member delegation to India to determine needs in conversations with companion churches, and in February staff visited Indonesia.
The ELCA produced two videos: "Beyond Tsunami: Lutherans Respond" and "Mama P."
Funds dispersed in the first phase -- the immediate relief phase -- of the response totaled $1.37 million. Recipients of the funds were:
+ Immediate relief in India, ACT, $100,000
+ Immediate relief in Somalia, ACT, $100,000
+ Immediate relief in Sri Lanka, ACT, $100,000
+ Lutheran World Relief projects, $100,000
+ Protestant Christian Batak Church, Indonesia, $20,000
+ United Evangelical Lutheran Church in India, $48,000
+ Relief work in Indonesia, Church World Service, $300,000
+ Psychosocial project in India by ADEPT, UELCI, $300,000
+ Lutheran World Services India, $150,000
+ Relief work in Indonesia, YEU, $100,000
+ Rebuild churches in Indonesia, LWF, Department for Mission and Development, $50,000
Two of the relief programs involved direct support from ELCA International Disaster Response (IDR), Chu said. The two-year psychosocial project in India is "almost solely" supported by IDR, he said. More than 1,400 community counselors were trained, most of them women, and they are working in communities along the Indian coast to provide counseling services to people who suffered losses in the tsunami. Ten community centers have been established to provide support to as many as 50,000 people in 26 villages.
An ELCA pastor who visited India in November, the Rev. Kathryn A. Ulrich, Immanuel Lutheran Church, Waupun, Wis., said the Lutheran Church provided a strong response in India following the tsunami.
"It brought tears to my eyes to see the connection between our support and LWR and International Disaster Response, and the tremendous work that is being done on our behalf," she said. "The psychosocial project that addresses more than just physical needs has made a huge difference in the recovery from the trauma that the people have been experiencing."
About 177 students at Tranquebar Bishop Manikam Lutheran College, Porayar, Tamil Nadu, India, received financial aid directly through the ELCA to complete their studies. Support included bus passes, bicycles and books.
In phase two of the five-year response and recovery plan, $2.4 million has been proposed or approved, including a $2 million grant to LWR for Sri Lanka relief and rehabilitation, and $200,000 each to CWS and YEU for rebuilding in Indonesia. Proposals for another $1.8 million in projects in this phase are being considered by International Disaster Response.
Kathryn Sime, director, ELCA World Hunger Appeal, thanked members of the church for their generous gifts which "made this life-saving disaster response possible."
"Within five months of the tsunami, our church had provided sufficient gifts to fund this multi-year response with our partners in South Asia. We invite your prayers and thanksgiving for the work of our partners and for the abundant generosity of our church, and for continued generosity to the ELCA Disaster Response for disasters yet to come, and to th