Lutheran Disaster Response

Megan Brandsrud

Following the series of rains, floods, and landslides, the affected population scattered across the north of Afghanistan face challenges in accessing shelter, water, food, and health services.
Children pose for the camera in front of their home.

During the last week in April and the early part of May, monsoon rains drenched northern Afghanistan, causing flash floods. On May 2, the continued heavy rains triggered a landslide and buried a village in Abi Barik, causing significant damage to homes and agriculture and the loss of many lives. Overall, more than 120,000 people have been impacted and more than 675 people have been reported dead.

Lutheran Disaster Response, with our partner, Church World Service, is providing immediate needs, such as food, shelter kits and hygiene kits. We are also assisting in mid- to long-term projects of rehabilitating livelihoods, restoring irrigation systems and providing disaster risk reduction.

Livelihood Rehabilitation

Cash-for-work programs will be made available to 570 families who will be able to assist in cleaning up and rebuilding their villages while receiving cash grants to be used for their own disaster-related expenses. The disaster impacted everyone in different ways, and the cash grants allow families to prioritize and take care of their own individual immediate needs.

Irrigation Restoration

Restoring irrigation systems will provide an opportunity for cash-for-work projects and will restore crop production on agricultural land.
Disaster Risk Reduction

1,200 people will participate in disaster risk reduction services, which will provide education on disaster risks and how to be prepared. Disaster risk reduction will help increase the resilience of the flood-impacted communities.

Thanks to your gifts, Lutheran Disaster Response is able to provide hope and healing to our brothers and sisters in Afghanistan who were impacted by the floods and landslide. We will continue to walk with them on their journey of rebuilding and renewal. If you would like to help support Lutheran Disaster Response’s work around the world, please visit the Lutheran Disaster Response giving page.

Megan Brandsrud

Emergency homes

On April 12, a raging wildfire enveloped the city of Valparaiso, Chile. Narrow, hillside roads and the lack of water or fire hydrants made controlling and extinguishing the fire very difficult. Fifteen people died as a result of the fire, which consumed 1,090 hectares (approximately 2,692 acres) and destroyed 2,900 homes, leaving approximately 12,500 people displaced.

Valparaiso is the Chilean city with the greatest number of low-income neighborhoods, with 22 percent of the city’s population living well below the national poverty line. Many people are worried about being evicted from their area and forced to move to other zones of Valparaiso.

Working with the Educación Popular en Salud Foundation (EPES), Lutheran Disaster Response is assisting those impacted by the fire by providing housing assistance and psychosocial support for women and children.

Rebuilding Homes

Currently, many residents who lost their homes are now living on their former property in tents or unstable structures built from tin and boards rescued from the fire. These dwellings are not waterproofed and provide no insulation from the winter cold and rains that are now occurring in the region. Lutheran Disaster Response, along with our partner, EPES will provide resources to 300 families to help them improve the conditions of shelter and winterization in their emergency houses.

Hope and Healing

The psychosocial support is grounded in a community participation strategy. Sessions will take place at a community center where 45 women and 300 children will be able to talk in a safe environment to diminish psychosocial injury and motivate family support and participation.

In the immediate aftermath of the fire, thousands of volunteers from around the country responded to the emergency. Few of those volunteers who worked in the initial weeks are present today, but families still need assistance. Lutheran Disaster Response is committed to providing long-term assistance to people whose lives have been disrupted by disaster. Thanks to your generosity, Lutheran Disaster Response is able to walk with our brothers and sisters in Valparaiso as they continue on their journey of recovery and rebuilding.

If you would like to help support the church’s work in Valparaiso, please visit the Lutheran Disaster Response giving page.

Megan Brandsrud

Nyagnet Req and children

Since mid-December 2013, the world’s newest nation, South Sudan, has been the setting of a political crisis turned violent. According to a May 16, 2014, report from the United Nations, more than 1.3 million people have been displaced as a result of the armed fighting, and more than 4 million people are facing acute food insecurity.

Despite an agreement to cease hostilities on Jan. 23, 2014, the violence continues. One of the most fought-over towns is Malakal, the capital of oil-producing northern Upper Nile state. Many people in Malakal have been forced to flee to escape being caught between the warring parties.

Nyagnet Req, the mother of seven children, is one of those people. This is her story.

On Jan. 13, 2014, Nyagnet went to a nearby river to get water for her household. This was part of her daily routine. However, when she was returning home on that day, she witnessed first-hand the disaster as it hit her town. The town had been taken over by heavy armed fighting. Gun shots were flying as parents were running to gather their children. Nyagnet says she only has blurred memories of how fast she ran to collect her children and escape.

“It was the worst day of my life,” Nyagnet says.

Nyagnet and her three sons and four daughters were traveling on foot. After days of walking, they reached the Ethiopian border town, Matar. Matar is one of the entry points in the western region of Ethiopia.

On Jan. 23, 2014, Nyagnet and her family were placed in Lietchor camp. The camp has modest temporary shelters and basic sanitation facilities. Food and clean water are Nyagnet’s primary concerns.

Since Nyagnet and her children had to flee so quickly, she lost contact with her husband, who was working for the government in road construction at the time the clashes occurred in their town. She has no knowledge of where he is, and she has no way to let him know where she is.

Nyagnet’s story is similar to the stories of the many who have had to flee their homes as a result of the conflict in South Sudan. Many families had to leave on a moment’s notice, with no time to grab belongings or supplies, and family separation is one of the most prevalent results of the conflict.

Providing Hope and Healing

Lutheran Disaster Response, in partnership with The Lutheran World Federation (LWF), is providing assistance to accommodate the 20,000 refugees at Lietchor camp. Boreholes are being drilled to construct a motorized water supply system, hygiene supplies are being distributed, and sanitation awareness programs are being implemented. In addition to these life-saving activities, we are working with LWF to provide agricultural livelihood restoration programs.

The months of conflict and the fear of returning home to nothing take a toll on families who have had to leave everything behind for their safety. Lutheran Disaster Response has been present from the beginning, providing assistance within South Sudan and to refugees in Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya and Chad. We will continue to be present and provide assistance where it is needed most, for as long as it is needed. Your gifts designated for the South Sudan Conflict Response will help assist those who have been directly impacted.

Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or the sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. Romans 8:35, 37

Megan Brandsrud

Six months ago, Typhoon Haiyan (known locally as Yolanda) crashed into the Philippines. As one of the strongest storms in recorded history, it affected more than 14 million people and destroyed approximately 1 million homes. More than 6,200 people were reported dead as a result of the storm, and more than one thousand people still remain missing.

Working with Lutheran World Relief, Lutheran Disaster Response was active on the ground in the Philippines days after Typhoon Haiyan made landfall. A lot of recovery work has been done in the past six months. Projects have involved shelter repair, cash-for-work programs, non-food item distributions, livelihood rehabilitation, and water and sanitation intervention programs.

Here is a breakdown of some of the recovery projects in process:

Shelter: Working with Habitat for Humanity Philippines, 1,457 households have received shelter repair kits, which have impacted 7,285 people. Repair kits include things such as plywood, coco lumber, iron roofing sheets, nails, hammers and saws. These kits allow people to return home.

Cash-for-Work: More than 18,000 people have participated in cash-for-work debris removal programs. This means that people are able to contribute to their community by taking part in clean-up efforts, and they can receive money to be able to make prioritized spending decisions that are right for their family. Cash-for-work programs are beneficial because even though millions of people were impacted by the same disaster, they were impacted in different ways and have different needs as they recover.

Water: The availability of clean drinking water was a major concern tackled after the storm, and 240 community water filtration units have been installed in child-friendly places, such as schools.

Delia Moreno is a grandmother to three children. She and her grandchildren were in her home in Maya barangay of northern Cebu when Typhoon Haiyan was approaching. They quickly ran to a neighbor’s sturdier home for shelter.

“We ran for our lives,” Delia said. “I prayed that I would receive God’s graces and survive the storm.”

They all survived the storm, but Delia’s house did not. When they emerged from her neighbor’s home, they saw that all that remained of Delia’s home was a pile of debris.

However, on Nov. 23, just two weeks after Typhoon Haiyan destroyed her home, Delia received a shelter repair kit and with the help of her nephew, she rebuilt her home.

“I am so happy,” she said.

There have been great strides in recovery in the six months since Typhoon Haiyan hit the Philippines, but there is still a long way to go. Thanks to your generosity, Lutheran Disaster Response is able to work with our brothers and sisters in the Philippines as they continue to rebuild and recover. To help provide assistance to those who need it most, you can give a gift to the Lutheran Disaster Response – Pacific Typhoon fund. Donations from people like you allow the church to be present and active in this long journey to recovery.

The one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ. -Philippians 1:6

Please visit the Lutheran Disaster Response Facebook page for more photos of Typhoon Haiyan recovery projects.

Megan Brandsrud

This week, 33 volunteers from St. Philip’s Disaster Relief Ministry of St. Philip’s Lutheran Church in Fridley, Minn., traveled to New Jersey to assist in Hurricane Sandy recovery projects.

This trip marked St. Philip’s Disaster Relief Ministry’s 50^th trip since the ministry formed in 2006.

St. Philip's 50th trip certificate

St. Philip’s Disaster Relief Ministry has traveled around the country meeting people who have been impacted by disasters and helping them rebuild their homes.

“St. Philip’s Disaster Ministry has been a great leader in volunteering to help those impacted by disasters,” Lutheran Disaster Response Program Director Mike Stadie said. “I don’t know of any other ELCA congregation that has helped as many people all over the country. Their commitment to helping those in need is inspirational.”

St. Philip’s Disaster Relief Ministry’s current trip to New Jersey was coordinated by Lutheran Social Ministries of New Jersey (LSMNJ) and A Future with Hope. Please visit LSMNJ’s website for more details about this story and Hurricane Sandy recovery efforts.

Pictured: Members of St. Philip’s Disaster Ministry receive certificate from Lutheran Disaster Response Program Director Michael Stadie and Amy Pennenga, disaster response coordinator for LSMNJ.

Megan Brandsrud

Security in the Central African Republic (CAR) still remains a major issue, as armed fighting and looting continues. According to a May 1, 2014, report from the United Nations, there are approximately 584,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in CAR and more than 2.5 million people who are in great need of assistance.

United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) says the number of children being treated for severe acute malnutrition in CAR has tripled. This is in large part a result of families missing last year’s planting season because of the violence in the country and thus having a minimal harvest this year. The fighting in CAR has also disrupted many families’ livelihoods, meaning there isn’t money to buy food.

Knowing that food security is a major concern in CAR, Lutheran Disaster Response collaborated with our global companion church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Central African Republic (EELRCA), to provide assistance. From April 17 – April 29, Lutheran Disaster Response, with the EELRCA, distributed seeds and farming tools to people in the Bohong region of CAR who have been impacted by the ongoing armed violence in the country. Distributing peanut seed

Since the rainy season is approaching in CAR, the seeds are arriving just in time for planting. This will allow farmers to restore their livelihoods and have food for next year.

The supplies included:

12.2 tons of seed for corn
2.7 tons of seed for beans
5.2 tons of seed for peanuts
2,000 hoes (hand plows)
600 files for sharpening the hoes and other farm tools

More than 2,000 households received seed and farming supplies from the distribution.

The EELRCA is committed to serving as the church even though they are living in the midst of this crisis, and with them, Lutheran Disaster Response is providing assistance to those who need it most.

“We thought that we were abandoned to ourselves, but the church is always thinking about us,” said one beneficiary at the seed distribution.

A woman who received seed expressed how this will help her restore her livelihood. “I am filled with joy,” she said. “I will plant the seed and after harvest, I will eat and sell the surplus. Thanks to all the people [in the USA] who are thinking about us.”

Committed to an inter-faith reconciliation, the EELRCA welcomed anyone who could benefit from the seed distribution. One Muslim man who received seed was happy to be able to plant and harvest food for himself and his neighbors.

The need in CAR is still very great, and we will continue to work with our companion, the EELRCA, as we provide assistance to people in CAR who are still being impacted by the violence in their country.

President Golike of the EELRCA will be visiting the ELCA Churchwide Office during the week of May 12. Stay tuned for a new post with an interview with President Golike.

Afghanistan: Providing Immediate and Long-Term Assistance After Floods and Landslide

Valparaiso, Chile: Rebuilding After the Fire

South Sudan: What It Means to Run for Safety

Typhoon Haiyan: Recovery Work Continues Six Months Later

Disaster Relief Team Travels to New Jersey, Marks 50th Trip

Central African Republic: Distributing Seed for the Rainy Season