Brethren Disaster Ministries Directs $70,000 to Joint Response in Nepal, Among Other Grants

Brethren Disaster Ministries staff have directed a grant of $70,000 from the Church of the Brethren Emergency Disaster Fund (EDF) to help fund a joint response in Nepal with Church World Service (CWS) and Lutheran World Relief, Heifer International, and local partners.

Other recent EDF allocations continue funding for the Brethren Disaster Ministries rebuilding project at Spotswood, N.J.; supports a CWS response to the displacement of millions of Iraqis after years of armed conflict in their country; and supports a CWS response to destruction caused by spring storms throughout the US.

Nepal

The EDF allocation of $70,000 for a joint response to the Nepal earthquake follows on the April 25 magnitude 7.8 earthquake that caused widespread destruction and death that expanded into surrounding countries of India, China, and Bangladesh. “As one of the least developed countries in the world, Nepal’s capacity to respond to the massive humanitarian needs is limited, and the government of Nepal has appealed to the international community to assist,” said the grant request.

Brethren Disaster Ministries will work with long-time partners CWS, Lutheran World Relief, and Heifer International, and will develop new relationships with Nepalese organizations. This grant focuses on emergency aid to some of the most vulnerable families by providing $30,000 to CWS/Lutheran World Relief, $30,000 to Heifer International, and up to $10,000 to support emerging partnerships in Nepal.

The $30,000 for the CWS/Lutheran World Relief response will support temporary shelter materials; emergency food; water, sanitation, and hygiene needs; and psychosocial care and education.

The $30,000 to Heifer International will support emergency aid in the form of temporary shelter materials, food, blankets, and household supplies to more than 10,000 Heifer farmers impacted by the earthquake.

Additional grants supporting these responses will be made based on giving toward this response, according to Brethren Disaster Ministries.

Spotswood, N.J.

Brethren Disaster Ministries has directed an EDF allocation of $30,000 to continue support for a rebuilding project in Spotswood, N.J. The project was previously funded by a grant from the American Red Cross to repair and rebuild homes damaged or destroyed by Super Storm Sandy.

Since Jan. 2014, Brethren volunteers have been working on home repair and rebuilding in various areas of Monmouth County, N.J., through a partnership with Monmouth County Long Term Recovery Group, Habitat for Humanity, and two other partners. The county group now assigns Brethren Disaster Ministries to over half of their approved recovery cases and have confirmed that there will be more help needed at least through the completion of 2015.

“During this time 489 BDM volunteers completed 31,800 work hours of repairs and new construction on over 85 homes in five counties, with the majority being in Monmouth County from our Spotswood site,” reported the Brethren Disaster Ministries staff.

Iraq

An EDF grant of $7,500 supports CWS response to the displacement of millions of Iraqi men after years of armed conflict in their country. “The Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre estimates more than 3 million people–including many ethnic minorities–remain displaced in Iraq as of Nov. 2014,” said the grant request. “In addition, as of Jan. 2015, it is estimated that approximately 32,000 Iraqi refugees are living in Iran after fleeing the violence.”

This grant will help CWS provide assistance for up to 37 Iraqi refugee families in and around the Iranian city of Qom in purchasing their own sheltering materials and food.

United States

An EDF grant of $2,000 is supporting CWS response to damage and destruction caused by spring storms throughout the US. This grant will provide on-site CWS training activities focused on long-term recovery needs in specific areas that have been hit by these storms. Funds also will be used to ship material resources including CWS kits to local partners and churches addressing survivor needs.

For more information about the Emergency Disaster Fund go to www.brethren.org/edf .

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