Emergency Disaster Fund sends $100,000 for tsunami work.

A grant of $100,000 from the General Board's Emergency Disaster Fund (EDF) continues Brethren support for Church World Service (CWS) work following the tsunami in south Asia. Other EDF grants have been made for disaster relief in the Caribbean, Sudan, and Nebraska.

Donations to the EDF in 2005 are approaching three-quarters of a million dollars, totaling $678,393. "The response of our members to the efforts of EDF and the needs in southeast Asia has been remarkable," commented Stan Noffsinger, the board's general secretary. "We thank both the many donors who have given so generously, and our staff and the staff of Church World Service for their tireless efforts to care for the needs of people, all of whom are our sisters and brothers in Christ."

A record number of Gift of the Heart kits for disaster relief have been received at the Brethren Service Center warehouses in New Windsor, Md. As of Feb. 7, 81,986 pounds of the kits had been received, sent from every US state but Hawaii, Utah, and Wyoming, reported Jane Bankert of the board's Service Ministries. The program warehouses and ships the kits for CWS.

The $100,000 will start rebuilding efforts following the tsunami, reported Roy Winter, director of Emergency Response. It follows three previous grants, making a total of $180,000 in Brethren funding related to the tsunami. A grant of $19,500 will continue support of a Brethren Disaster Response rebuilding project in Hallam, Neb., a small town devastated by a tornado. EDF also gave $17,500 for shipping canned meat and Gift of the Heart Health Kits and Layette Kits to southern Sudan. The donations to the New Sudan Council of Churches include over 22,000 pounds of chicken canned by Mid-Atlantic and Southern Pennsylvania Districts. An allocation of $10,000 supports CWS work in the Caribbean following the hurricanes of 2004. The funds will be used in Haiti for food assistance, medicine, water and sanitation, and agriculture and livestock recovery. Additional work will include clearing debris, recovery of schools, and income-generating activities.

For more information about Emergency Response/Service Ministries see www.brethren.org. A round-up of Brethren tsunami relief efforts by individuals, congregations, districts, and other organizations is planned for the next Newsline. Send information to News Services, Church of the Brethren General Board, 1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, IL 60120; or e-mail cobnews@aol.com.

Source: 2/16/2005 Newsline
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