Emergency Disaster Fund grants aid displaced Lebanese, continue Brethren Disaster Ministries rebuilding project in Kentucky, among others

Recent grants made from the Church of the Brethren’s Emergency Disaster Fund (EDF) have been directed by Brethren Disaster Ministries as follows:

— $45,500 continues the Brethren Disaster Ministries response to the deadly July 2022 summer flooding in Kentucky;

— $35,000 supports the initial relief program of the Lebanese Society for Education and Social Development (LSESD) for families displaced by the conflict between Hezbollah in southern Lebanon and Israel;

— two grants to l’Eglise des Freres au Congo (Church of the Brethren in the Democratic Republic of Congo or DRC) provide $26,000 to the congregation in Goma for school kits for 800 vulnerable children, and $20,000 for building and equipping a Women’s Empowerment Center in the city of Ngovi on the property where the denominational headquarters are located;

— $3,000 partially funds a solar power system for Global 8235/RecycloCraftz in Zambia, a faith-based fair-trade organization.

Kentucky

An additional allocation of $45,500 continues the Brethren Disaster Ministries response to the deadly July 2022 summer flooding in Kentucky. The current phase of the response, in partnership with HOMES Inc., follows on a series of involvements by Brethren Disaster Ministries and various church districts and volunteer groups in the area of Letcher County. This full-time rebuilding project leverages the resources that HOMES Inc. has to complete the continued flood recovery. This grant finances a rebuilding response to serve Letcher County through at least the end of 2024, covering operational expenses for volunteer support including housing, food, leadership, and transportation expenses.

Lebanon

A grant of $35,000 support the initial relief program of the Lebanese Society for Education and Social Development (LSESD) for families displaced by the conflict between Hezbollah in southern Lebanon and Israel. The outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in Oct. 2023 brought an escalation of hostilities between Israel and armed Hezbollah groups in southern Lebanon. Even before this fall, with the Sept. 17 start of Israel’s deadly cyberattack and the Sept. 23 start of Israeli airstrikes, more than 100,000 people were already displaced. Then on Oct. 1, Israeli ground forces invaded Lebanon.

The ongoing conflict has caused extensive damage to hundreds of towns and cities in Lebanon and the deaths of thousands of people and injuries to tens of thousands. As of the date of grant request, the United Nations had reported that more than 1.2 million Lebanese were displaced. These figures grow daily.

As the conflict progressed, Brethren Disaster Ministries partner LSESD began providing relief and assessing needs. At this phase of the crisis, the identified priorities include food assistance and non-food items including blankets, mattresses, pillows, diapers, feminine hygiene products, personal care items, and emergency lights. The initial relief program has identified 500 displaced and conflict-affected families representing 2,000 people who require assistance to meet their most basic needs. Recipients are selected based on the following vulnerability criteria: displaced as a result of clashes along the southern border and other regions and in need of assistance to meet basic needs; lost livelihoods and unable to cover basic expenses while displaced; living with one or more other families while displaced.

Additional grants for this response are anticipated as the crisis continues.

Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)

Two grants have been made to l’Eglise des Freres au Congo (Church of the Brethren in the DRC):

A grant of $26,000 assists the congregation in Goma to purchase, assemble, and distribute school kits to 800 vulnerable children. Since May 2022, previous grants have provided $195,500 for distributions for displaced families (IDPs) in the Goma area including items such as food, soap, household supplies for cooking and eating, blankets, mattresses, and tarps to improve temporary shelters. During the first few distributions in the IDP camps, church staff and volunteers were encouraged by camp leaders and parents to offer specific assistance to the displaced children, most of whom had not been able to attend school and were suffering from “extreme distress” because of the trauma. An EDF grant in Sept. 2023 purchased school kits for the most vulnerable displaced children–592 children as well as some orphans who are members of the Congolese church. Church leaders have now identified the need to assist recently displaced children in the Kanyaruchinya Camp north of Goma.

A grant of $20,000 has been made for building and equipping a Women’s Empowerment Center in the city of Ngovi on the local property of a Congolese Church of the Brethren congregation. Brethren Disaster Ministries staff had encouraged l’Eglise des Freres au Congo to consider a response that would help some of the displaced families transition from being dependent on outside aid to become self-supporting, even while displaced. These conversations led to a plan for a Women’s Empowerment Center that will teach livelihood skills for displaced women and those living in deep poverty in South Kivu Province. The proposed building will be constructed on the same property where the headquarters of the denomination is located.

Zambia

A grant of $3,000 partially funds a solar power system for Global 8235/RecycloCraftz in Zambia, a faith-based fair-trade organization providing vocational training and literacy programs for vulnerable women and young men that also operates learning centers to provide schooling for children. Zambia is highly dependent on rainfall for agriculture, but has been experiencing its worst drought in 40 years. It also relies on hydroelectric power to supply 85 percent of its electricity. The grant is a result of a contact from Tracy Murray, Elizabethtown (Pa.) College graduate and founder of Global 8235/RecycloCraftz, who sought funding for a solar power system that would help the organization continue to operate in spite of power grid outages.

To give financial support to this work, donate to the Emergency Disaster Fund at https://churchofthebrethren.givingfuel.com/all-ministries?registrants.fund=%3EHurricane%20Response%5e or by means of checks made out to the Emergency Disaster Fund and mailed to the Emergency Disaster Fund, Church of the Brethren, 1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, IL 60120.

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