March 17, 2005

CHICAGO – According to mission personnel of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) serving in Indonesia, prayer and contributing money remain the best methods to support recovery operations following a Dec. 26 tsunami that claimed more than 200,000 lives in several coastal countries of the Indian Ocean.

Rosella Kameo said survivors of the tsunami in Indonesia are "going to need a lot of help to pick up the pieces and rebuild their shattered lives."

Kameo, an ELCA missionary working in Indonesia, and her husband Daniel, who is Indonesian, received many inquires from individuals and congregations around the world asking what can be done to help survivors of the tsunami.

Some wrote that "sending money to a disaster relief organization seems so impersonal," Kameo said. "‘Why should we bother to route our money through relief agencies if our congregation could send it directly to individual [Lutheran] churches or companion synods in India, Thailand or Indonesia?'"

Although "it may sound impersonal, the very best way to help tsunami [survivors] is to send a financial donation to a reliable relief agency," Kameo said.

"Volunteers are rarely needed, we have learned, because disaster relief is a job that requires professionals with technical skills and prior disaster experience. An international disaster situation is more complicated than a domestic one, normally requiring passports, visas, fluency in the language of the area and cross-cultural skills. Hiring qualified survivors is much more cost effective and sustainable than relying on foreign volunteers. As well-meaning as volunteers may be, they are apt to get in the way and take up food, accommodations and supplies needed by local people and professional workers," she said.

"Our goal is long-term sustainable development," said Kameo. Credible relief agencies like Church World Service and Action by Churches Together have "established a strong presence in these areas long before the tsunami disaster occurred, and they employ thousands of staff members, most of whom are residents of local communities," she said.

"Support the ELCA International Disaster Response effort" that is "working in areas devastated by the tsunami. Pray for the wisdom and guidance of those who use the funds you send," Kameo said. "Study about the people, cultures and religions of the areas affected. Most importantly, continue to pray for those who have been traumatized and whose lives have been irreversibly changed by this overwhelming tragedy," she said.

ELCA International Disaster Response

Through ELCA International Disaster Response, members of the church contributed more than $6 million to support recovery and rebuilding efforts in southern Asia, said Kathryn Sime, director for the ELCA World Hunger and Disaster Appeal.

Coordinated by the ELCA Division for Global Mission, International Disaster Response often channels its funds through international church organizations and relief agencies. Funds provide food, medicine, drinking water, emergency shelter and other materials for survivors of a disaster.

"People [in Indonesia] do not allow the tsunami to destroy them forever. They are reclaiming life," said the Rev. Joseph Chu, program director for the Asia and Pacific desk, ELCA Division for Global Mission.

Chu and other church leaders from around the world traveled together to Indonesia Feb. 20-27 to learn about tsunami disaster response efforts from Christian relief agencies. Action by Churches Together – a worldwide network of churches and related agencies that meets human needs through organized emergency response – organized the trip. It is based with the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), in Geneva. The ELCA is a member of WCC and LWF.

"We saw how Christian relief organizations are working together" in Indonesia, Chu said. "They are very well organized and professional in their approach when working with survivors. This gives us great confidence as we continue to donate funds to ACT and their partners, which are doing a very good job in exercising excellent stewardship practices," he said.

"We went to Banda Aceh, which is one of the most tsunami- affected areas in Indonesia," Chu said. "The exact statistics are hard to have, but I think we heard that more than 100,000 people were killed there," he said.

"We must offer prayer. I believe in the power of prayer, even though the people of Indonesia may not know who is praying for them," Chu said. "I also think it is important to listen to what people in Indonesia are saying. Sometimes we, who are oceans apart, have ideas of what needs to be done. But the reality of local people is quite different, so we must listen," he said.

ELCA News Service