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Church World ServiceGlobal Response
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Every year, natural disasters, violence, and other emergencies put thousands of people at risk of losing their lives, their homes, and their sources of income. In the developing world, unrelenting poverty and disparity make disaster recovery especially difficult.
Through the Emergency Disaster Fund (EDF), countless disaster survivors are given hope in desperate situations. The EDF enables the Church of the Brethren to actively support coordinated disaster relief efforts, mostly through faith-based international partners, wherever disaster strikes.
East Africa Drought and Famine
Severe drought across the Horn of Africa has left 13 million people without enough food to eat. The situation is so grim that southern Somalia is now in the midst of a true famine. More than 3 in 10 children are acutely malnourished, and people are dying of starvation every hour.
In our partnership with Church World Service and the ACT Alliance, the Church of the Brethren is providing food, water, and other essential aid in Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya, and in enormous camps along the Kenyan-Somali border.
This response is sponsored by the Church of the Brethren’s Emergency Disaster Fund, which provides immediate aid, and the Global Food Crisis Fund, which develops sustainable solutions for food and water security.
There are several ways that you can help today.
- Give to our Horn of Africa response online at www.brethren.org/africafamine or by mail to Church of the Brethren, 1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, IL 60120.
- Copy and distribute this bulletin insert (PDF) on a coming Sunday to church members to raise awareness of this severe crisis and how they can help.
- Speak out about the need for continued U.S. humanitarian assistance in the Horn of Africa. Aid that saves a life or creates a more secure future for children is not wasteful spending. Make your voice heard by writing a letter to your Congressional representative or local newspaper editor.
- Pray for those who are hungry in the Horn of Africa and around the world.
Syria
An EDF grant of $8,000 for Syria responds to a Church World Service appeal following an 11-month political crisis in the Middle Eastern country. The related violence has resulted in a humanitarian crisis, with thousands of people displaced within Syria and thousands more seeking refuge in neighboring countries. The money supports the work of CWS and its partner, International Orthodox Christian Charities, in responding with food packages, relief kits, household supplies, and training for community health care workers.
Haiti
EDF grants totaling $1,372,500 are making possible the comprehensive Brethren Haiti Earthquake Response. Brethren Disaster Ministries' response to the earthquake transitioned in 2011 from emergency relief to long-term recovery. The focus for 2011 was on rebuilding 50 homes, sustainable agriculture, and clean water projects. The EDF also funded the construction of a ministry center to house volunteers and serve as headquarters for the Church of the Brethren in Haiti.
Additionally, $150,000 in grants is supporting the earthquake recovery programs of Church World Service.
Thailand
Extensive flooding during the October 2011 monsoon rains put one-third of Thailand’s land mass under water. More than 2.4 million people, including 700,000 children, were affected, with over 300 deaths. Extensive crop damage, loss of livestock, and loss of harvested rice added to the humanitarian tragedy. An EDF grant of $20,000 helped provide emergency food, survival packets, and shelters to survivors of this disaster through Church World Service partners in Thailand.
Cambodia
The worst seasonal flooding in a decade impacted 1.5 million Cambodians in October 2011 and displaced more than 90,000, while destroying half of the country's rice crop for the coming two seasons. A grant in the amount of $10,000 has been given to CWS relief efforts, including emergency food and water purification tablets for 8,859 of the most affected and poorest families.
Central America - El Salvador and Honduras
The 2011 hurricane season produced a series of slow-moving storms and extensive flooding and landslides across Central America. The storms damaged homes, crops, and livelihoods, complicating the recovery for the 900,000 people impacted. With an EDF grant of $25,000, the Church of the Brethren response supports partners in El Salvador and Honduras to provide emergency aid and long-term recovery to the most vulnerable displaced families.
Brethren Disaster Ministries is working with the Emmanuel Baptist Church relief operations in El Salvador. Priority for relief is emergency food rations, purified water, personal hygiene kits, and medicines. Sarah Hall, a Brethren Volunteer Service worker based in San Salvador, is facilitating communication between BDM and the Church. This is the first partnership with Emmanuel Baptist Church. In Honduras, BDM is partnering with Proyecto Aldea Global through Chet Thomas to support emergency food rations, house wares, blankets and mattresses.
Angola
Heavy rainfall, landslides and flooding have affected the south-central African country of Angola in early 2011. Much of Angola’s infrastructure is still in disrepair following a long civil war. The floods are amplifying the challenges faced by the returning refugees who had been displaced by the war. About three-quarters of cultivated land in the area has been damaged by floods and mudslides. Funds in the amount of $4,000 went toward assistance through Church World Service to about 2,000 families in the form of food, supplies for flood cleanup, and seeds and tools to restore farming and self-reliance.
Libya
An EDF grant in the amount of $10,000 was given in response to an appeal by Church World Service following the displacement of families due to civil strife and violence in Libya. This grant supported critial humanitarian aid, income-generation programs, and trauma support for displaced families who fled to Egypt.
Guatemala
A grant of $4,000 aided the community of Union Victoria, Guatemala after high winds twisted and damaged a suspension bridge used by farmers for transporting coffee beans to market. Funds covered the materials for the repair and permanent stabilization of the bridge, which was completed by a team of volunteers.
