The ACT Alliance has released its 2010 Annual Report, their first Annual Report! The ELCA is a member of ACT and we are grateful for their continued work of coordination that helps resources reach those in need with more efficiency and speed. Through their added value your gifts to ELCA Disaster Response can reach farther.

So read about how ACT coordinate their great work globally through stories, reports and financials and learn more about how the ELCA Disaster Response works with partners to carry out our good work. Learn about how they work with partners in the UN and around the world. Read about how dollars raised become lives enhanced. Read about how God’s work is being done through your support.

Also, read ACT’s General Secratary, John Nduna’s, letter about the report.

Early last Tuesday morning the Indonesian island of Sumatra was struck by a pair of earthquakes in the central district of North Tapanuli. The quakes had magnitudes of 5.5 and 5.6 and led to a general state of fear running through the population and the destruction of some buildings. Thankfully there was not a tsunami triggered by the quakes.

Though the damage caused by the quakes was relatively minor many residents moved to evacuation points because they still felt traumatized by the earthquakes. Though there has been no immediate request for assistance, the ELCA continues to walk with its companions on the ground, especially the Indonesian Christian Church, as they assess the situation and determine what future response may be needed.

Please lift up the people of North Tapanuli as they deal with the trauma of disrupted lives and raise a prayer of thanksgiving for the subdued nature of the destruction and for those who were quick to respond.

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

After the January referendum results were announced in February and it was learned that the overwhelming majority of Southern Sudanese were in favor of seceding from Sudan and forming a new country there were worries that violence would be renewed between the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) in the north and Nuba-SPLA (Sudan Peoples’ Liberation Army) in the south. Yet, immediately after the announcement violence was kept to a minimum and the world prepared for a new independent republic to be formed July 9, 2011 in the area currently known as Southern Sudan.

Unfortunately, this calm was broken this past week with fighting between the SAF and SPLA taking place in the region of South Kordofan, which rests on the border that will exist between the to-be-created republic and the country of Sudan. There have also been reports that this violence has spilled over to include a high number of civilian casualities. According to a June 11 OCHA Report over 50,000 people have been displaced because of the violence with around 6,000 finding refuge at the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) compound on the outskirts of Kadugli.

With much of the humanitarian and press core communities being kept out of the country reports are spotty and aid is scarce. As we learn more we will continue to post updates. In the meantime please keep the people of Sudan in prayer as the innocent fall victim to the ruthless ambitions of the few and as a new country strarts to find its footing in this volatile area.

To learn more check out the ELCA Disaster Response page Sudan: South Kordofan Conflict. To get involved see the ELCA’s Washington Office’s Action Alert.

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

The UN’s High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has released a new map showing the approximate numbers and locations of refugees from the Ivory Coast. The numbers continue to be high, particularly on the western edge of the country as people continue to be wary of returning. I was struck not only by the high numbers of refugees, but also by the distances some of them had to traverse and that the Internally Displaced People (IDPs) within Cote d’Ivoire.

The ELCA is working with its companions, the Lutheran Church in Liberia, Lutheran Development Service (LDS) in Liberia and the ACT Alliance to help those fleeing from the violence. To date the ELCA has allocated $60,000 towards the ACT appeal to meet the needs of the 175,000+ refugees in Liberia. It has also allocated $10,125 to help the Lutheran Church in Liberia rebuild part of the church’s Lutheran Training Center which was damaged by the war and a severe windstorm.

Hopefully as the new government begins to take form Ivorian citizens will begin to see in their country fertile soil in which to plant their trust and hopes. And perhaps the helping hand shown by neighboring countries may continue in a tradition of good will and friendly relations.

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

I had the pleasure yesterday of sitting with Bishop Eduardo Martinez of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Colombia (IELCO) to gain his perspective on what has been happening in his country. Here is a bit of what we covered:

The major point relayed by the bishop is that the situation in Colombia is worsening. With reports that the rains last month were equal to the annual rainfall of Colombia and the excessive rains over the past year, many have been left without access to housing or food as they are forced from their homes by the rising waters and left incapable of harvesting the sustenance crops they live on. There are also dangers for people as the move onto higher ground as mudslides have become more common. This all would be a crisis enough on its own, but with somewhere between 3.5 and 5 million people already listed as IDPs (Internally Displaced Persons) within the country these new additions have begun to overwhelm aid agencies.

With this new situation the government has been calling on the churches to lend a helping hand. The bishop described how the IELCO is historically been focused on responding to the humanitarian crisis but with this new situation they are finding way to build on this work to address the humanitarian concerns of disaster response and development. To this end they are working on a proposal for the Latin American Council of Churches, ACT Alliance and ELCA to help meet the growing needs of the people.

The bishop also attended the synod assembly of the Southeast Synod of Minnesota and will attend the assembly of the South Carolina Synod, both of whom have companion synod relationships with IELCO. His hope is to share the story of his people so that their brothers and sisters in the ELCA may know of their situation.

Please pray for Bishop Martinez, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Colombia and all Colombians that the spirit of Christ may sustain them through this time of crisis and the Easter message of life from death, creation from destruction, may continue to give them hope.

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

Amid the swirl of events in the Ivory Coast (president-elect Alassane Ouattara to be sworn in today, claims that the last of the forces loyal to ex-president Laurent Gbagbo have been put down and the expected start of trial for Gbagbo this coming week) the Ivorian refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) have taken a bit of a backseat. Yet there are still an estimated 177,000 refugees (mostly in Liberia) and 238,000 IDPs (mostly in Western Cote d’Ivoire).

It was expected after the capture of Gbagbo that these numbers would go down, but despite the efforts of those within the Ivorian government and international aid organizations, they have remained fairly constant as the Ivorians who fled fear the violence is not over.

The ELCA has been working with its partners in the ACT Alliance, particularly the Lutheran World Federation, within Liberia to help meet the refugee needs there. It is hoped that as things begin to settle to a new sense of normalcy these refugees and their IDP brother and sisters will feel secure enough to return home to help move their country into its next chapter. During this interim time, let us keep these people in prayer, that the spirit of God may comfort them and ease they fears, that the strength of Christ may steel them for coming months as they begin the long journey to a home that for many may seem more new than old.

To learn more about the situation read the UN OCHA Situation Report #4.

To gain a perspective of what the refugees have gone through read the story of baby Pierre (pictured above). This story, from the ACT Alliance, tells of his birth as a refugee in Liberia and the struggle of his mother, grandmother and great-grandmother to escape the violence.

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