Lutherans support tsunami rebuilding alongside Java relief

-12/06/06

While development


Lutherans support tsunami rebuilding alongside Java relief

-12/06/06

While development agencies and church organizations have rightly been providing relief for victims of the recent Java earthquake, there is also a real need to continue the long process of recovery from the tsunami that hit Indonesia and other countries eighteen months ago, believes the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).

Alongside its main church partners, ECLAís International Disaster Response service is providing 1 million US dollars to help build homes and communities in northern Sumatra, where the Indian Ocean natural disaster on 26 December 2004 left some 170,000 people dead or missing.

The latest contribution is part of a five-year 11 million US dollar response plan by ECLA.

“Rebuilding homes is a high priority. The generous gifts given by our members over the past year will become walls and roofs, providing permanent shelter for those who lost everything when the tsunami swept away so much in Indonesia,” explained the Rev Rafael Malpica-Padilla, executive director, ELCA Global Mission.

The 1 million US dollars will be disbursed in several installments. The first allocation of 300,000 dollars was provided on 1 June 2006 to Action by Churches Together (ACT) for implementation by Yakkum Emergency Unit (YEU), an Indonesian disaster response organization.

The funds will be used to support the rebuilding of more than 200 homes in Kuala Bubon, a fishing village in northwestern Sumatra that was swept away by the tsunami.

The ELCA is a member of ACT, the 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), both in Geneva, Switzerland.

ACT is also heavily involved in work to support communities in Java devastated by the quake that struck on 27 May 2006.

Coordinated by ELCA Global Mission, 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.

“Given the incredible destruction caused by the tsunami, rehabilitation will take years, and the ELCA will accompany its companions as they assist survivors on the long path to recovery,” said Malpica-Padilla.

“At the same time the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is supporting its Indonesian companions as they respond to the massive May earthquake in Java, a disaster of immense proportions that requires a major response from the international community,” he said.

The tsunami killed more than a quarter of a million people in East Africa and South Asia. The ELCA International Disaster Response service developed a series of principles to guide its work.

The principles include “walking with” survivors and communities to rebuild livelihoods and strengthen communities, supporting partner organizations and companion churches, and helping churches to be more prepared for future disasters.

[Also on Ekklesia: Java quake scene like tsunami, says Indonesian Mennonite; Devastated Java quake area being ignored, says priest; More church agencies gear up aid for Java quake zone; Tsunami: justice as well as relief needed, say Christians; Anglican Diocese gives 100k for tsunami victims; Finance ministers agree to freeze debts of tsunami countries; Christian Aid warns of social tsunami; Mennonites describe Indonesian earthquake horror; Irish Catholics declare day of fasting for tsunami victims]


Lutherans support tsunami rebuilding alongside Java relief

-12/06/06

While development agencies and church organizations have rightly been providing relief for victims of the recent Java earthquake, there is also a real need to continue the long process of recovery from the tsunami that hit Indonesia and other countries eighteen months ago, believes the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).

Alongside its main church partners, ECLAís International Disaster Response service is providing 1 million US dollars to help build homes and communities in northern Sumatra, where the Indian Ocean natural disaster on 26 December 2004 left some 170,000 people dead or missing.

The latest contribution is part of a five-year 11 million US dollar response plan by ECLA.

“Rebuilding homes is a high priority. The generous gifts given by our members over the past year will become walls and roofs, providing permanent shelter for those who lost everything when the tsunami swept away so much in Indonesia,” explained the Rev Rafael Malpica-Padilla, executive director, ELCA Global Mission.

The 1 million US dollars will be disbursed in several installments. The first allocation of 300,000 dollars was provided on 1 June 2006 to Action by Churches Together (ACT) for implementation by Yakkum Emergency Unit (YEU), an Indonesian disaster response organization.

The funds will be used to support the rebuilding of more than 200 homes in Kuala Bubon, a fishing village in northwestern Sumatra that was swept away by the tsunami.

The ELCA is a member of ACT, the 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), both in Geneva, Switzerland.

ACT is also heavily involved in work to support communities in Java devastated by the quake that struck on 27 May 2006.

Coordinated by ELCA Global Mission, 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.

“Given the incredible destruction caused by the tsunami, rehabilitation will take years, and the ELCA will accompany its companions as they assist survivors on the long path to recovery,” said Malpica-Padilla.

“At the same time the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is supporting its Indonesian companions as they respond to the massive May earthquake in Java, a disaster of immense proportions that requires a major response from the international community,” he said.

The tsunami killed more than a quarter of a million people in East Africa and South Asia. The ELCA International Disaster Response service developed a series of principles to guide its work.

The principles include “walking with” survivors and communities to rebuild livelihoods and strengthen communities, supporting partner organizations and companion churches, and helping churches to be more prepared for future disasters.

[Also on Ekklesia: Java quake scene like tsunami, says Indonesian Mennonite; Devastated Java quake area being ignored, says priest; More church agencies gear up aid for Java quake zone; Tsunami: justice as well as relief needed, say Christians; Anglican Diocese gives 100k for tsunami victims; Finance ministers agree to freeze debts of tsunami countries; Christian Aid warns of social tsunami; Mennonites describe Indonesian earthquake horror; Irish Catholics declare day of fasting for tsunami victims]