ELCA NEWS SERVICE April 30, 2004 Lutherans Support Relief Efforts in Haiti 04-086-MR CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) have contributed $50,000 to support relief efforts in Haiti. The recent political upheaval surrounding the departure of former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide has created a humanitarian crisis there. "An estimated 3 million people have been affected by the crisis," said the Rev. Y. Franklin Ishida, director for leadership development, ELCA Division for Global Mission. "More than half of them are children under 18 years old, and an estimated 700,000 are women of child-bearing age," he said. "Violence has resulted in an unknown number of deaths, fear and uncertainty, as well as up to $300 million in damaged property," Ishida reported. Other concerns in Haiti include maintaining safety, ensuring humanitarian access, providing food and medical aid. The crisis has cut off water, sanitation and electrical systems. Hospitals or clinics that have managed to stay open are severely overextended, according to Lutheran World Relief, the overseas relief and development organization of the ELCA and the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. Through its International Disaster Response, the ELCA sent funds to Action by Churches Together (ACT) for implementation by the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), which has been responding to the crisis in Haiti, said Ishida. The ELCA World Hunger Program has been supporting the work of LWF since 1988, but the present humanitarian "crisis goes well beyond current support to meet the needs of the Haitian people," he said. LWF will focus its relief efforts in first aid and legal assistance, food security, health assistance, agricultural recovery and income generating activities, counseling and conflict resolution. The Rev. Thomas L. Weitzel, director for communication, ELCA Florida-Bahamas Synod, Tampa, Fla., said representatives of the synod are "very concerned about the future" of Haiti. The ELCA Florida-Bahamas Synod shares a "companion" relationship with Lutheran churches in Haiti, and it participates in LWF's work in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. 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. ACT is based with the World Council of Churches (WCC) and LWF, both in Geneva, Switzerland. The ELCA is a member of WCC and LWF. LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the Lutheran tradition. Founded in 1947, the LWF now has 136 member churches in 76 countries, representing 61.7 million of the world's nearly 65.4 million Lutherans. _ _ _ 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. For information contact: John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or [log in to unmask] http://www.elca.org/news