Title: Lutherans Support Relief Efforts in Congo, India and Tanzania
ELCA NEWS SERVICE

September 7, 2000

LUTHERANS SUPPORT RELIEF EFFORTS IN CONGO, INDIA AND TANZANIA
00-208-MR

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- International Disaster Response of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) provided $50,000 this
month to support recovery efforts from war in the Democratic Republic
of Congo, $50,000 to assist flood recovery efforts in India and
$50,000 for drought and famine relief in Tanzania.
     Members of the ELCA contribute funds to the church's
International Disaster Response fund. 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.
     The war that began in August 1998 still continues today in the
Democratic Republic of Congo, according to the Rev. Y. Franklin
Ishida, director for international communication, ELCA Division for
Global Mission.
     Ishida said more than half of the "Congolese territory is in
rebel hands." People from the areas of North Kivu and South Kivu
have had to "flee their homes several times," and their "villages are
raided for food and livestock."
     "They flee without belongings," he said. "Many who return find
their homes and gardens destroyed." This has led to a "sharp
deterioration" in supplies of food, water and medicine, he said.
     The funds sent by the ELCA will help support the relief efforts
through Action by Churches Together (ACT). ACT is working with the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Congo to provide food, medicine, seeds
and tools, and "capacity building" for residents in the North Kivu,
South Kivu and Maniemam areas of Congo.
     ACT is a worldwide network of churches and related agencies
meeting human need through coordinated emergency response. ACT is
based in Switzerland with the World Council of Churches (WCC) and
Lutheran World Federation. The ELCA is a member of both the WCC and
LWF.
     In Assam, Bihar and West Bengal, India, thousands have lost all
their belongings from flood waters, Ishida said. "Many have lost
clothing, food and shelter," he said. "About four million people
have been affected by floods in some way." Temporary shelter, food
and clean water is being provided there.
     "There has been an immense loss of crops, livestock and
infrastructure" in India, according to Ishida. "Hundreds of relief
camps have been set up in flood-affected areas for people left
homeless," he said.
     The $50,000 sent by the ELCA will help support the flood relief
efforts of ACT and the Lutheran World Federation's World Service in
India, a member of ACT.
     Meanwhile, drought conditions have caused severe food
shortages, about 680,000 metric tons worth, in nine regions of
Tanzania -- Arusha, Dodoma, Kilimanjaro, Morogoro, Mwanza, Shinyanga,
Singida, Tabora and Tanga.
     "Rains for the 1999 planting season were delayed. People
started planting anyway, but many ate the seeds because there was a
lack of food," Ishida said. "There are also reports of families
committing suicide because of the lack of food, and tensions are
increasing among the population," he said.
     Staff of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania, located
in the Mbulu Diocese, report that more than 500,000 people have been
affected in the Mbulu area alone.
     "People have sold everything they have to buy seed for
planting. Many have planted several times, only to see everything
burned up by the sun," said Delight Gartlein, an ELCA volunteer
missionary there. "Maize is the staple crop, and its price is
rising," Gartlein said.
     The drought that has plagued Tanzania, Ishida said, has also
caused continued suffering for people from Burundi who, as a result
of "civil conflict" between government and opposition rebel groups
there, live in refugee camps in Tanzania. More than 150,000 people
have died as a result of the civil conflict.
     More than 800,000 people are "displaced" in Burundi, and more
than 480,000 live in refugee camps in Tanzania, Ishida said. About
120,000 refugees are in the Kibondo district of Tanzania. "Another
40,000 refugees are in a new camp in Karago," he said. Camps there
are managed by the Tanganyika Christian Refugee Service of the
Lutheran World Federation.
     "In the midst of the drought and famine in Tanzania, refugees
from Burundi do not have access to any resources. The current appeal
for funds by ACT will provide for more emergency shelter and
construction, the distribution of food and other items, water
development and refugee camp management," Ishida said.
     The ELCA is contributing $50,000, through ACT, in response to
the drought, famine and refugee situation in Tanzania.
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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:

Lutheran World Relief
PO Box 17061
Baltimore, MD 21298-9832
1-800-LWR-LWR2

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or [log in to unmask]
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