Send donations to ELCA International Disaster Response, PO Box 71764, Chicago, IL 60694-1764, 800-638-3522 or give online.
ELCA members provided $575,000 in September in response to disasters in Somalia, southern Asia, Uganda and Indonesia. International Disaster Response, coordinated by ELCA Global Mission,
channels funds through international church organizations and relief
agencies for food, medicine, drinking water, emergency shelter and
other materials.
Civil wars and political instability in
Somalia after the fall of its former president, Siad Barre, have forced
many Somalians to seek asylum in Kenya since 1991, said Belletech
Deressa, director for international development and disaster response
with Global Mission. “The refugee population has gradually increased over the years to about 173,409 at the end of June 2007,” she said.
The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees established the Dadaab Refugee Camp for Somali refugees. Deressa said the camp’s conditions are deteriorating. Since the Lutheran World Federation
is known for the “management of refugee camps, UNHCR requested that the
it take over the management of the camp,” she said. Through Action by Churches Together, the LWF sought financial support for camp management, and the ELCA sent $50,000.
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© 2013 Augsburg Fortress, Publishers
