ELCA NEWS SERVICE

March 2, 2006  

Lutherans Respond to Food and Water Crisis in Kenya
06-031-MRC

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Up to 3.5 million people in Kenya are in
danger of dying if food and water are not delivered soon,
according to Action by Churches Together (ACT).  Drought
conditions severely cut food and water supplies there.  In
response to an ACT appeal for funds, International Disaster
Response of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)
provided $100,000 to support the distribution of food and water
and other drought-related recovery operations in Kenya.
     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
Lutheran World Federation (LWF), both in Geneva, Switzerland.
The ELCA is a member of the WCC and LWF.
     ELCA International Disaster Response funds will be
implemented by the LWF, ELCA companion churches in Kenya and
Church World Service (CWS) -- a relief and development agency of
U.S. Protestant and Orthodox churches.  The ELCA participates in
the work of CWS.
     Drought conditions, stemming from the lack of rainfall this
past fall, have prompted the Kenyan government to declare a state
of emergency.
     "The famine situation is particularly alarming in the
Mandera, Wajir, Marsabit and Moyale districts of northern Kenya,"
said Dr. Belletech Deressa, director for international
development and disaster response, ELCA Global Mission.
     "Other districts requiring immediate emergency relief
operations include Kajiado, Kitui, Mwingi, Makueni, Isiolo, Tana
River, Turkana, Samburu and Laikipia and parts of the Baringo
district," said Deressa.  "These districts are often vulnerable
to drought compared to other parts of the country."
     In addition to the drought, "the collapse of the livestock
market in most of the major cattle-keeping districts has
negatively impacted food security," said Deressa.
     "Grain prices have almost doubled in most parts of the
affected districts while livestock prices have declined
significantly, thereby eroding the purchasing power of
households.  Most water pans and dams are dry, and boreholes
experience frequent breakdowns due to overuse," she said.
     The LWF Department for World Service has been working toward
relief in Kenya, especially in the Turkana district.  Its work
focuses on food assistance, drought mitigation activities with
the construction of water pans, provision of emergency water
through mobile tankers, rehabilitation of existing boreholes, the
development of new boreholes and vaccination of livestock against
drought-related diseases, said Deressa.
     The Kenya Evangelical Lutheran Church (KELC) -- a companion
church of the ELCA -- has identified about 20 relief distribution
centers in the drought-affected districts.  The church has
assisted 5,056 families, which constitute about 30,000
beneficiaries, she said.
     The KELC, ELCA, National Council of Churches in Kenya and
other church bodies support the work of Church World Service.  In
Kenya, CWS and its local partners have been involved in building
the capacities of grassroots churches and communities in order to
equip them with the skills of monitoring and responding to
emergencies, Deressa said.
     "Lutheran churches in Kenya, together with Church World
Service, are engaged in food distribution to drought-affected
communities and mitigate the circumstances of conflict caused by
the scarcity of food," she said.
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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:

ELCA International Disaster Response, PO Box 71764,
Chicago, IL 60694-1764, 1-800-638-3522 and
http://www.ELCA.org/disaster/idrgive on the Internet.

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