Grants have been made for flood response in Thailand and Cambodia by
the Church of the Brethren’s Emergency Disaster Fund (EDF). Also in
recent grants is support for disaster relief following wildfires in
Texas.
A grant of $20,000 responds to a Church World Service (CWS) appeal
following monsoon rains in Thailand, which resulted in extensive
flooding. Funds support CWS work through partner Church of Christ in
Thailand and the ACT Alliance, providing emergency food, survival
packets, and shelters to survivors.
Heavy monsoon rains plagued southeast Asia this fall and severely
affected one-third of Thailand's land mass, according to the CWS appeal.
A total of 3.4 million acres of farmland--an area 13 times the size of
Hong Kong--was submerged under water with more than 12.3 million
livestock affected and more than 2 million tons of un-milled rice
destroyed. Authorities said the death toll exceeded 307. More than 2.4
million people including 700,000 children were affected.
In Cambodia, a grant of $10,000 responds to a CWS appeal following
extensive seasonal flooding. The money helps provide emergency food and
water purification tablets for the most affected and poorest families.
According to CWS, Cambodia has experienced its worst seasonal flooding
in more than a decade, with 17 of 24 provinces affected. Some 1,500,000
people have been affected and more than 90,000 families displaced. About
13 percent of Cambodia’s rice crop was flooded, and almost half of it
destroyed. Shortages and high prices are likely to make rice
unaffordable through to the next harvest period in Dec. 2012. CWS is
responding as part of a joint six-month effort of ACT Alliance members.
Distribution of rice and other food has begun, with an overall objective
to provide food and water purification tablets to 8,859 of the most
affected and poorest families in six of the nation’s provinces.
A grant of $2,500 from the Emergency Disaster Fund has been given to a
CWS appeal following multiple wildfires in east-central Texas in
September and October. In Bastrop County fires destroyed 1,700 homes of
which approximately half were not insured. Additionally four churches
were destroyed. In the Spicewood area approximately 5,600 acres were
burned and 52 homes were destroyed. Most families affected were lower
middle class. The grant supports CWS efforts to assist local Long Term
Recovery Committees with start-up grants and group training.
To support the work of the Emergency Disaster Fund go to www.brethren.org/edf.
Source:12/29/2011 Newsline
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