December 21, 2007

CHICAGO (ELCA) – In an effort to help meet the basic needs of people in the Dominican Republic and Haiti, members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) provided $25,000 after Tropical Storm Noel left 116 people dead and destroyed land on the Caribbean islands. Lutherans provided another $50,000 for emergency relief in Sri Lanka, after a year of intense armed conflict there.

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

Sri Lanka

ELCA funds were sent to Action by Churches Together (ACT) to support the recovery efforts of ACT members in Sri Lanka. The National Christian Council of Churches of Sri Lanka, a member of ACT, is proposing a six-month program to provide emergency relief to communities in northern and eastern provinces of Sri Lanka, where ground attacks, mortars and aerial bombings continue to kill and displace people in these areas, reported Dr. Belletech Deressa, director for international development and disaster response, ELCA Global Mission.

About 5,000 people have been killed in fighting since 2006, and more than 200,000 people have been displaced from their homes, said Deressa.

Emergency relief will include providing food and non-food items, water and sanitation, temporary shelter, health services, educational support, peace-building efforts and the restarting of livelihoods, she said.

ACT is a global alliance of churches and related agencies working to save lives and support communities in emergency situations worldwide. It is based with the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), Geneva, Switzerland. The ELCA is a member of the WCC and LWF.

Dominican Republic

Heavy rain from Tropical Storm Noel produced floods and landslides in the Dominican Republic and Haiti. The government of the Dominican Republic has declared a national emergency, requesting international aid for immediate and long-term rehabilitation, reported Deressa.

In response to the emergency situation in the Dominican Republic, ACT issued an appeal for funds. ELCA funds were sent to ACT and will be implemented by Christian Aid there.

Many communities do not have access to clean drinking water, said Deressa. Flooding has damaged pipes and aqueducts, and some pumping stations are without electricity. "The authorities are beginning to draw up reports on the effects of the flooding in the agricultural sector with the worst affected crops being plantain, rice, fruit trees and bananas. Many areas are still without power and some roads are still impassable because of debris and landslides," she said.

Tabasco, Mexico

Tropical Storm Noel also produced flood conditions in Tabasco, Mexico, affecting more than a million people there. In November the ELCA sent $50,000 to Amextra – the Mexican Association for Rural and Urban Transformation – an ELCA companion ministry in Mexico. Amextra has experience dealing with natural disasters and has the administrative, operational and communication structures to handle the situation effectively, said Deressa.

In response to the floods, Amextra has engaged in community organizing and delivered food supplies, medicine and construction materials. Local staff teams and volunteers are ready to begin a service project that will serve 11,000 people over the next five months, said the Rev. Rafael Malpica-Padilla, executive director, ELCA Global Mission. "This is a major disaster that has gone unnoticed by most people, and the response has been limited," he said, adding that the ELCA remains present in Mexico, supporting the work of Amextra.

ELCA News Service