Children’s Disaster Services (CDS) has deployed a team of 10 volunteers to Houston, Texas, in response to heavy flooding. The CDS volunteers were to arrive mid-day April 21, and have tentative plans to continue childcare through the beginning of May.
Brethren Disaster Ministries
BDM Supports Work of Heifer International in Ecuador
Brethren Disaster Ministries has directed a grant of $10,000 from the Church of the Brethren Emergency Disaster Fund (EDF) to support the work of Heifer International in Ecuador following a massive earthquake last weekend.
EDF Grants Help Begin New Disaster Rebuilding Site in Detroit
Brethren Disaster Ministries has directed recent grants from the Emergency Disaster Fund (EDF) to begin a new rebuilding project site following flooding in Detroit, Mich.; to continue an ongoing rebuilding project site in Colorado; and to help support the work of Brethren volunteers at an ecumenical Disaster Recovery Support Initiative (DRSI) in South Carolina.
Special Events, Vigils Mark Second Anniversary of Chibok Abductions
Here is information about some of the special events and prayer vigils planned to commemorate this anniversary, including a first-ever memorial event at the school in Chibok for the parents and families that will integrate both Christian and Muslim faiths:
Newsline Special: Marking the Second Anniversary of the Chibok Abductions
1) Still no definitive answers: What Brethren should know on this second anniversary of the Chibok abductions
2) Special events, vigils mark second anniversary of Chibok abductions
3) ‘Long Journey Home’ video updates Brethren about the Nigeria Crisis Response
4) Fellowship tour to Nigeria is planned for August
5) United Nations notes sharp increase in use of child suicide bombers
6) Live your life in the hand of God: An interview with Rebecca Dali
Still No Definitive Answers: What Brethren Should Know on the Second Anniversary of the Chibok Abductions
On April 14, 2014, 276 schoolgirls were abducted from a secondary school in Chibok, in northeast Nigeria. Since the night the girls were taken some 56 have escaped and one reportedly was executed in a vicious stoning incident. That leaves 219 of the girls unaccounted for and, at last report, no one has any concrete information concerning their whereabouts.
‘Long Journey Home’ Video Updates Brethren About the Nigeria Crisis Response
The Global Mission and Service office has released a new DVD which updates the Church of the Brethren about the Nigeria Crisis Response for 2016. The video called “The Long Journey Home” outlines what has been accomplished with funds raised by the church and mission partners during 2015, and provides a blueprint for the church’s support of Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN, the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria) for 2016.
Live Your Life in the Hand of God: An Interview with Rebecca Dali
The following is excerpted from an interview with Rebecca Dali made during last year’s Church of the Brethren Annual Conference in July 2015. It was shortly after she had been able to go back home to Michika for the first time since Boko Haram had taken over the area, and then had been forced back out by the Nigerian military. Dali heads up CCEPI, a humanitarian nonprofit serving widows, orphans, and others affected by violence. Now there is significantly less violence than last summer, but Dali’s comments give insight into the suffering of many in Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN, the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria) and their Christian and Muslim neighbors. She shares about the spiritual foundations of her work, and helps explain how young Nigerian men are enticed into joining Boko Haram:
Brethren Sew Dolls, Stuffed Toys for Nigeria Training by CDS
Several churches and sewing groups have made dolls and stuffed toys for use by Children’s Disaster Services (CDS) in an upcoming training in Nigeria. CDS associate director Kathleen Fry-Miller and volunteer trainer John Kinsel will travel to Nigeria to train Nigerian Brethren women leaders to provide trauma healing for children.
Disaster Grants Support WV Bridge Project, Displaced People in Africa, DRSI Project, Sudan Mission, Deportees
Brethren Disaster Ministries staff have directed grants from the Church of the Brethren’s Emergency Disaster Fund to a variety of projects in recent weeks. Among them are a bridge rebuilding project in West Virginia, assistance for refugees from Burundi living in Rwanda, assistance for people displaced by violence in the DR Congo, a Disaster Recovery Support Initiative aiding a longterm recovery group in South Carolina, food assistance in South Sudan, and aid for Haitian migrants returning to Haiti from the Dominican Republic. These grants total $85,950.