ELCA NEWS SERVICE August 8, 2003 Lutherans Provide Funds for Relief Efforts in Liberia 03-154-JAC CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) contributed $50,000 of the church's International Disaster Response Fund to support relief efforts in Liberia. "Even as peacekeepers are being deployed, days and weeks of battle between rebel forces and government over control of Monrovia, the capital of Liberia, has left tens of thousands of people destitute," said the Rev. Y. Franklin Ishida, director for international communication, ELCA Division for Global Mission. "Although the death toll has not been confirmed, many people are believed to have died in the latest round of fighting. Hundreds have been injured," said Ishida. Charles Pitchford, Liberian representative, Lutheran World Federation (LWF), reported that Monrovia is also facing a water crisis. Some recent heavy rains brought a small reprieve, as people could collect rainwater in buckets, he said. Access to safe drinking water and staple foods, such as rice, is becoming increasingly difficult for people in the city, especially in government-held areas. The humanitarian effort seems to be better in rebel-controlled parts of the city because of access to port warehouses. Pitchford said fighting continues in the downtown and surrounding areas of Monrovia. Hospitals cannot take on more people, and many have died from cholera, he said. Fighting has paralyzed the city, with businesses out of operation, Pitchford said. "Some food can be found in the more informal markets but at prices that have shot up over the last month. Gas and fuel oil are in extremely short supply, with the price of fuel having tripled." Pitchford said many people displaced by the conflict are "older people," who are "giving up and letting death take them from the indignity of living in the streets." Peacekeeping forces cannot come soon enough for people trapped in a brutal cycle of attack and counter-attack between government and rebel forces in Liberia, Pitchford said. Some 1,500 peacekeepers are expected to make up the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) force, which Liberians still hope will be assisted by a U.S. peacekeeping force, he added. At least 600 people have sought refuge in two Lutheran church compounds in Monrovia, Ishida said. In spite of the ongoing street battles, some of the local LWF staff have started visiting the compounds to check on people detained there, he said. LWF is specifically engaged in food distribution and refugee activities, Ishida said. Around the capital area, some 150,000 displaced people are in camps. Another 250,000 displaced individuals are believed to be scattered throughout the country, inaccessible to humanitarian aid workers because of the lack of security in rural areas, he said. "LWF is in the process of constructing a camp in Salala, Bong County, to accommodate displaced people who fled from other areas during the last attack by the rebels. The Salala camp has about 35,000 people and will require more non-food items, water and sanitation, and shelter construction," Ishida said. ELCA funds were sent to Action by Churches Together (ACT) for implementation by the LWF. Coordinated by the ELCA Division for Global Mission, 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 the LWF, both in Geneva, Switzerland. The LWF is a global communion of 136 Christian churches in the Lutheran tradition in 76 countries representing more than 61.7 million of the 65.4 million Lutherans worldwide. The WCC represents 400 million Christians in more than 340 churches, denominations and fellowships in 120 countries and territories throughout the world. The ELCA is a member of both organizations. Details on the ELCA's International Disaster Response are at http://www.elca.org/dgm/disaster/current.html on the Web. 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 P.O. Box 71764 Chicago, IL 60694-1764 1-800-638-3522 http://www.elca.org/scriptlib/dcm/giving/idisaster.asp on the Internet. For information contact: John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or [log in to unmask] http://www.elca.org/news