ELCA provides $500,000 for emergency aid in Nepal

 CHICAGO (ELCA) – In an effort to continue meeting the needs of earthquake survivors in Nepal, members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) have allocated $500,000 to support ELCA partners there engaged in relief and emergency assistance.

 The funds were sent through this church's Lutheran Disaster Response to ACT Alliance – $200,000 allocated to The Lutheran World Federation based in Geneva, $200,000 to Lutheran World Relief based in Baltimore, and $100,000 to the United Mission to Nepal.
 Active in Nepal since 1984, The Lutheran World Federation began an immediate large-scale emergency response in and around Kathmandu, Nepal's capital. The earthquake's epicenter was approximately 50 miles northwest of the city. As of May 4, the confirmed death toll is more than 7,270 people. The Lutheran World Federation is a global communion of Christian churches in the Lutheran tradition. The ELCA is the only U.S. member church of the communion.
ELCA funds will support the communion's establishment of shelters and camps and the distribution of clean water, food, sanitation supplies and more in several districts in the Kathmandu Valley. The Lutheran World Federation is the lead agency for ACT Alliance and is working directly with the Nepalese government.
Active in Nepal since 2009, Lutheran World Relief is distributing quilts, water filtration systems and other emergency relief supplies.
The most pressing emergency needs are providing "food, health services and water and sanitation through our cooperative operational partners – Lutheran World Federation and Lutheran World Relief," said the Rev. Daniel Rift, director for the ELCA World Hunger and Disaster Appeal.
"We anticipate continuing support of rehabilitation, shelter and economic development both through the operational partners and other church companions in the longer term," he said.
 "The ELCA grant is an expression of our solidarity with the Nepalese people," said Vitaly Vorona, program director for ELCA International Disaster Response.
 "The ELCA and its partners are planning to reach approximately 20,000 families. My thoughts and prayers are with the (survivors) of this disaster. I hope this grant will facilitate the provision of timely, urgent materials to the (survivors) and help them restore to their normal living. As soon as our immediate assistance is completed, we will look into how we can further support people in Nepal," Vorona said.
 ELCA funds allocated for the United Mission to Nepal oversees health care services with special medical, surgical and orthopedic care units in four districts in the Kathmandu Valley. "United Mission is receiving patients from many outlying districts, as well," Rift said.
 "The ELCA has a long relationship with United Mission to Nepal, which in part provides health care services," said the Rev. Y. Franklin Ishida, area program director for Asia and the Pacific, ELCA Global Mission.
"Nepal is a country where poverty and underdevelopment continue to be issues," Ishida said. "The ELCA has long supported organizations that are devoted to bringing holistic development to the people of Nepal. With this disaster, the needs of the country, both immediate and long-term, are deeply on our minds as we embark on disaster response."
Through its Direct Choice Dollars program and personal donations, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans will match donations made to Lutheran Disaster Response.
"The ELCA's focused earthquake efforts are being supported through gifts to Lutheran Disaster Response. All gifts designated for the 'Nepal Area Earthquake' will be used 100 percent for this response," Rift said.
Information about Lutheran Disaster Response is available at www.ELCA.org/en/Our-Work/Relief-and-Development/Lutheran-Disaster-Response.