Where is the Horn of Africa? What is Going on There? Why Should I Care?
I had this set of questions come up a few times in conversation over the past week. Usually it was from people who are out in congregations sharing the message of our work and relaying back the sense they were...
Horn of Africa: Startling Statistics in UN Briefing
I just read an Aug 2nd UN press briefing on the situation in the Horn of Africa that had some pretty striking statistics. It really drove home that though things are bad now, without proper intervention they can get much...
Field Report: Missouri River Valley and Minot North Dakota
Dear Sisters and Brothers: I am Kevin Massey, Program Director for Lutheran Disaster Response. I’m in Minot North Dakota this week connecting with these flood affected communities and people that I met last month when I was here. Volunteer operations...
Horn of Africa Drought: Hearing Echoes in UN OCHA Press Release
On Monday the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs gave a press release on the situation in the Horn of Africa. Reading it this morning, I was struck by some familiar echoes to the response of the...
Haiti: ELCA Responds to Continuing Cholera Epidemic
Late last week the ELCA committed over $500,000 to help the Lutheran Church in Haiti as it continues to respond to the cholera epidemic that has affected the country since October 2010. As of May almost 125,000 people have been...
Pakistan: New UN Report “One Year On”
It has been almost one year to the day since what has been described by UN General Secretary as a “slow-motion tsunami” struck Pakistan. With heavy monsoon rains in mid-July 2010, bodies of water throughout the country began to overflow...