On Nov. 8, 2013, Typhoon Haiyan, known locally as Typhoon Yolanda, crashed into the central Philippines. For the next several days, heavy rainfall and top-speed winds wreaked havoc on the region. The typhoon, one of the strongest recorded storms to ever make landfall, impacted 14 million people, took the lives of 6,300 people, damaged or destroyed 1 million homes and caused $2 billion in damages.

Of the 14 million people affected by the storm, 40 percent were already living below the poverty line. Also, out of the affected population in the 14 provinces, the livelihoods of 5.6 million people were destroyed, lost or disrupted.

It has now been a little over 2 years and we are still present. Thanks to your generosity in giving almost $2.5 million and because of our network of partners on the ground in the Philippines, Lutheran Disaster Response was able to respond to immediate relief needs and continues to address the longer-term recovery needs.  Below is the story of Marilyn Jabilloraga, a survivor and participant in the Livelihood Recovery Program, through our partner Lutheran World Relief.

Marilyn Jabilloraga lives in Barangay Calao, nestled in the uplands of Burauen Municipality in Leyte Province. She is a 49 year-old married mother of two.  

Just like many others in the Philippines, Marilyn and her family were severely affected by Typhoon Haiyan. Although they did not experience the storm surge, the wind was so strong that their house collapsed. They hid under the sink, which was the only part of the house that was left standing.  

Because their house was destroyed, Marilyn’s family slept in a makeshift shelter with only tarp as their roofing for three months. The typhoon also devastated the family’s coconut trees and their livelihoods in copra and rice production. 

However, Marilyn was able to participate in LWR’s project and received vegetable seeds, calamansi1 as well as farm training to revive her family’s livelihood. Being able to grow and harvest her own vegetables for her family’s consumption was a logistical and financial relief for Marilyn. She was also glad to be trained on how to make organic fertilizer and pesticide as well as on improved agricultural practices and marketing techniques. She is hopeful that her calamansi and coconut seedlings will bear fruit in the near future and become a strong source of income for the family. 

She still dreams that, one day, she and her family will enjoy a life like the one they had before Haiyan – or even better.            

Church in Society: A Lutheran Perspective, the ELCA’s social statement on the church’s relation to society and its public presence and responsibilities, states, “As a reconciling and healing presence, this church is called to minister to human need with compassion and imagination.” Lutheran Disaster Response answers this call by often being the last ones to leave after disaster occurs. Staying behind to aid those, like Marilyn, who may have otherwise fell through the cracks.

Here’s how you can be a part of the response:

Pray

Please pray for all those affected by this crisis. Remember those who have lost everything and all those who are working to respond. You can use these prayers and resources in your worship services.

Give

Gifts to Lutheran Disaster Response will be used to provide immediate and/or longer-term recovery relief.

Connect

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Lutheran Disaster Response – International is committing $1 million to Lutheran World Relief to collaboratively address the needs of the people impacted by Super Typhoon Haiyan.  

Early Nov. 8, 2013, one of the world’s most powerful storms on record, Super Typhoon Haiyan, known locally as Yolanda, swept through the Philippines’ Eastern Visayas Region. Some areas experienced 235 mile-per-hour wind gusts, 16 inches of rainfall and waves as tall as 45 feet. Several of the areas impacted by Haiyan include communities with high levels of poverty and regions still recovering from the Oct. 15 7.2-magnitude earthquake, both of which are areas more vulnerable to the impacts of the disaster.

Approximately 9.5 million people have been impacted by the storm, and local officials estimate that up to 10,000 people have died in the Leyte Province city of Tacloban alone.

Lutheran Disaster Response – International is working with ACT Alliance partners—Lutheran World Relief (LWR), Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and Philippines ACT Forum Coordinator, the National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP)—to coordinate response plans.

Lutheran World Relief’s assessment team has traveled to Northern Cebu and Western Leyte identifying immediate needs. The LWR Philippines office in Mindanao is in communication with other ministry partners, non-governmental organizations, the United Nations and local government officials.

LWR’s prioritized response plans include

• Distribution of water
• Distribution of non-food items in evacuation centers, specifically cooking utensils
• Revitalization of economic life through cash-for-work programs and restoration of affected fishing villages
• Debris removal and road reconstruction

Lutheran World Relief’s skills, competencies and capacity with local organizations in the Philippines make them a trusted partner for Lutheran Disaster Response – International to coordinate with for long-term recovery and rebuilding in the wake of Super Typhoon Haiyan.

Lutheran World Federation has sent their Regional Emergency Response assessment team to the Philippines; our LDR – International Program Director, Vitaly Vorona, is in Geneva and has had conversations with LWF and ACT Alliance regarding assessment of the impacted areas.

Lutheran Disaster Response – International will also respond within the capacity of our companion church, the Lutheran Church in the Philippines, and in coordination with LWF.

We are committed to working through these partners. Their on-the-ground presence will best steward our resources so that our brothers and sisters in the Philippines can be assisted both now and through long-term recovery.

You can give now to help us work with our partners toward recovery and rebuilding in the Philippines.

In the morning of April 20, local time, an earthquake of magnitude 7.0 hit central China, Sichuan Province. Along with its thousands of aftershocks, the earthquake has caused heavy damage in the affected areas. The death toll has risen above 200, with more than 11,800 people injured. There have been over 2,000 aftershocks, leading to continued damage to structures like homes.

The ELCA has been in communication with our partner in the region, the China Christian Council, and has committed $15,000 to the relief effort. The immediate response has involved the delivery of food, tents, quilts and medicine. Future plans are to organize the distribution of relief materials, medical services and psychological care.

One of those churches involved in the response is one of the ELCA’s companion in the region, Luzhou Church. This church has built up a response team through past ELCA assistance and was able to send immediate response teams of pastoral staff, hospital personnel and teams with rescue dogs. This is a great example of why we continue to engage in disaster preparedness and mitigation efforts with our companions around the globe. The ability to respond quickly, efficiently and fully can make the difference in how wide the damages of disaster affect a community.

Let us hold those affected and those responding on their behalf in prayer. May we also give thanks for the ability of churches like Luzhou Church to engage in disaster preparedness activities and their ability to quickly respond to the needs of their neighbors.

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Gifts to ELCA Disaster Response allow the church to respond locally and globally in times of need. Donate now.

It was two years ago today that a 9.0-magnitude earthquake struck off the east coast of Japan and triggered a massive tsunami that left nearly 19,000 people dead or missing and displaced another 300,000. Since then the ELCA has been walking with companions like Japan Lutheran Emergency Relief (a joint ministry of four Lutheran churches in Japan formed after the disaster) and the Asian Rural Institute in their response.

In the past two years much work has been done, from immediate housing and feeding for affected individuals to debris removal and spiritual care for survivors and victims. With disasters of this scale the recovery will be one of many years, so as these individuals and communities continue to rebuild their new normal, let us today raise our prayers in solidarity and remembrance.

As we do so, one get a sense of the damage caused by the tsunami and the large amount of recovery work done is presented by The Telegraph newspaper in a series of photos of affected areas title Then and Now. In this small glimpse you can sense the gravity and immensity of the what people in the affected areas and those who have been working on their behalf have been dealing with. You can see the photos here:

Japan Earthquake and Tsunami: Photographs of Devastated Areas Then and Now

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Gifts to ELCA Disaster Response allow the church to respond locally and globally in times of need. Donate now.

On September 7 a 5.7-magnitude earthquake shook southwest China affecting people mainly in the Yunnan and Guizhou provinces. The quake was followed by numerous aftershocks, which mixed with heavy rains led to mudslides and landslides along the mountain slopes. 81 people have been reported dead with nearly 750,000 people affected. Within the Christian community 29 churches were damaged, three of which completely collapsed.

The ELCA’s companion, China Christian Council, has been responding in the area. Immediately after the quakes they were in communication with the churches on the ground, collecting reports of damage and potential need, as well as passing on prayers of sympathy and solidarity. The response has involved visits to affected households, particularly those who lost loved ones, and emergency food aid of rice, oil and water to 465 households (2,323 individuals). The ELCA has committed $25,000 to help with this response.

As the response continues, please keep the people of the Yunnan and Guizhou provinces in prayer. May God grant them peace of mind and the resources they need to engage in their recovery. Also, pray that those who respond within affected communities may have wisdom, patience and strength in the midst.

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Gifts to ELCA Disaster Response allow the church to respond locally and globally in times of need. Donate now.

The Asian Rural Institute, located in Tochigi, Japan, has been dedicated to training grassroots rural leaders from Asia, Africa and the Pacific since 1973. In this way they have been living out their calling as global neighbor. Yet, since the devastating earthquake and tsunami struck Japan in March 2011 they have also worked to make a concerted effort to be this same type of neighbor at home. The ELCA, through our Disaster Response program, has been working with them in this process, particularly helping to rebuild some of their damaged buildings so that they can continue to be a good neighbor. I thought it would be good to give a quick update on how ARI has been responding.

Rebuilding
New buildings that will help facilitate the work of ARI are hoped to be done in August. There will be new community space and classrooms in the new Koinonia (Greek word used to denote intimate community) House. The ARI shop has found a new space to help promote the products produced by the school. There is also a new Administration Annex to proived reception space for visitors, printing, meeting space and a computer lab. This space is made available in part through gifts to ELCA Disaster Response.

Is My Food/Soil/Water Radioactive
One of the affects of the devastating earthquake and tsunami was damage to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. Since that time there has been a fear around radioactive contamination. The question of whether food, soil or water is safe is simple to answer, providing you have a $40,000 Gamma Spectrometer to read the level of radioactivity. Recognizing that this type of equipment is not sitting in everyone’s living room ARI has made their Gamma Spectrometer and training on how to use it freely available to people who want to test their soil, food and water. These people range from local residents testing their gardens, to farmers testing their soil for growing to a Christian school which tests its food each day. In this way they are helping their neighbors have a little more peace of mind in the midsts of a frightening situation.

I’ll Take My Oil Green
Another affect of the radiation leak at the Fukushima plant was Cesium contamination of soil, including at ARI. To address this situation in a sustainable way, ARI is growing soy beans. They are working with local farmers to do the same. The reason for this is that soy bean plants actually take Cesium out of the soil, storing it in their stalks, and leaving the oil void of radiation. So they are growing a crop that can be sold while addressing the problem of contaminated soil. Also, in a sign of knowing their community they are using soy beans, even though other plants like sunflowers have a higher absorption rate of Cesium. This is because the local farmers have a equipment and experience for growing soy beans but not for sunflowers. So they are meeting the needs of the neighbor by first knowning what these needs are and what resources the neighbor has.

Go With What You Know
With these new projects they are still keeping up their work training grassroots leaders around the wider region. They had 27 graduates in the class of 2012 from as far away as Brazil. We give thanks for this great ministry of being neighbor, whether that be across the street or around the globe.

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Gifts to ELCA Disaster Response allow the church to respond at home and globally in times of need. Donate now.