ELCA NEWS SERVICE

September 19, 2003

Lutherans Respond to Disasters Worldwide
03-172-MR

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- International Disaster Response of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) continues to
provide funds for food, medicine, drinking water, emergency
shelter and other materials for survivors of disasters in China,
India and other parts of the world.
     Coordinated by the ELCA Division for Global Mission,
International Disaster Response often channels its funds through
international church organizations and relief agencies.

CHINA
     Violent rainstorms hit areas of China for about 24 days in
June and July, causing human casualties and tremendous damage to
land in 11 provinces and municipalities in the south and along
the Huai and Yangtze rivers, said Belletech Deressa, director for
international development and disaster response, ELCA Division
for Global Mission.
     "The rainfall ranged between 200 and 450 millimeters in many
areas," Deressa said.  There were thousands of landslides in
mountain areas and "in the plains, water levels in the main
rivers and their tributaries rose rapidly, overflowing the
embankments," she said.
     Holes had to be blown into the embankments, and dykes helped
relieve some of the flood waters.  "Many river dykes collapsed
under the pressure of the water, resulting in widespread
flooding.  Many cities have been flooded, while thousands of
villages have been submerged for days in flood waters that rose
up to four meters," said Deressa.
     "Injuries and illnesses are being treated by medical
personnel," said the Rev. Y. Franklin Ishida, director for
international communication, ELCA Division for Global Mission.
More than 335 people died, and another 130 million people were
affected by the flooding.
     "Large amounts of food, drinking water, medicine, water
purifiers, fuel, clothing, blankets and tents are being delivered
and distributed among the displaced people.  In spite of all
these efforts, much more food like rice and other items like
drinking water, medicine, clothing, blankets and materials needed
to set up make-shift shelters are still urgently needed because
the number of people needing assistance is so great," Ishida
said.
     To support recovery efforts in China the ELCA sent $50,000
to Action by Churches Together (ACT), 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 the Lutheran World Federation
(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 worlds
nearly 65.4 million Lutherans.
     The funds will be implemented by The Amity Foundation, a
church-related relief and development organization aiming at
promoting health, education, social services, rural development,
and emergency relief and rehabilitation programs.  The ELCA also
works directly with Amity in China.

INDIA
     "Incessant rains have pounded Assam since the first week of
July, causing the main river and its tributaries in upper Assam
to overflow and flood 20 districts," said Deressa.
     She said the death toll from monsoon rains and floods in
India has risen to 203.  Heavy precipitation worsened the
situation in the northeast Indian state of Assam.  "Seventy-eight
deaths were reported from Assam alone, the United News of India
reported.  Forty-five deaths have been reported in northwestern
Rajasthan, 25 each in the eastern states of Bihar and West
Bengal, 16 in New Delhi, nine in Uttar Pradesh and five in
Uttaranchal," Deressa said.
     The worst hit areas in India are the northeast states of
Assam and Bihar, said Deressa.  It is estimated that some 20,000
people were stranded in a single district of Assam, where more
than a dozen emergency camps have been set up to provide shelter,
food, clothing and medicine for people left homeless, she said.
     With more than 70 percent of its one billion citizens
engaged in agriculture, India depends on the monsoon's rains,
Ishida said.  "Parts of the country, such as Assam, where more
than 100 rivers flow from surrounding mountains, are ill-equipped
to deal with the annual deluge.  Thousands have lost all their
belongings in the swirling floods waters and are faced with
scarcity of shelter, food, clothing and household goods.
Survivors are currently deprived of the basic necessities of
life," he said.
     The ELCA sent $50,000 to Lutheran World Service-India.
Funds are being used to assist "the most vulnerable affected
families" in India, said Ishida.  "Food for children and nursing
mothers, non-food relief kits, temporary shelter, water and
sanitation items, as well as health assistance, are being
provided," he said.
     In the last seven months, the ELCA has been supporting
disaster relief work in other parts of the world:
     + El Salvador.  The ELCA provided $20,346 to support families
affected by the flooding of La Paz River in southern El Salvador.
Hurricane Isidore produced floods there September 2002.  Funds
were sent to The Salvadoran Lutheran Synod through LWF and ACT.
     + Ethiopia.  The church contributed $25,000 to support famine
relief efforts in Ethiopia.  Funds were sent to Lutheran World
Relief, the overseas relief and development ministry of the ELCA
and the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.
     + Iraq.  A grant of $90,000 was provided by the ELCA to "All Our
Children," a campaign led by Church World Service (CWS).  Since
1991 CWS, a relief and development agency of U.S. Protestant and
Orthodox churches, has provided humanitarian services to the
people of Iraq.  The ELCA participates in the work of CWS and has
contributed funds to the All Our Children campaign, created last
year to respond to the critical health-care needs of children in
Iraq.
     + Liberia.  From its International Disaster Response fund, the
ELCA Division for Global Mission provided $135,000 to support
tens of thousands of people who were internally displaced from
the battle between rebel and government forces over control of
Monrovia, the capital of Liberia.  ELCA funds were sent in
response to an ACT appeal for funds.  ACT will support the
humanitarian work of LWF, LWR and the Lutheran Church in Liberia.
     + Madagascar.  The ELCA sent $50,000 for famine relief in
Madagascar.  Funds were sent to the Malagasy Lutheran Church.
     + Mozambique.  The church provided $10,727 for food aid to
515,000 people in 43 districts in Mozambique.  The food shortages
in the country are a result of drought during the 2001-2002 crop
seasons.  Funds were sent to LWF through ACT.
     + North Korea.  The ELCA sent $50,000 to provide food and medical
assistance for people affected by famine in North Korea.  Funds
were sent to CWS.
     "Disasters also affect millions of people in other parts of
the world.  Many of these disasters, from floods to famine, often
do not make the headlines in the U.S. media," said Ishida.
     "Local church or church-related agencies are there on the
ground, attempting to meet the needs of those who suffer from
disasters.  The ELCA has an opportunity to contribute to the
relief efforts.  We hope our constituencies can work with the
whole church to bring comfort to people who suffer the most,"
Ishida said.

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
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