Take action to support Flint and other cities facing lead crises!

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It has been nearly a full year since the City of Flint, Michigan, first declared a state of emergency over the widespread lead contamination of its water supply. In that time, churches and service agencies have worked tirelessly to provide clean water to city residents—but significant challenges remain. Despite ongoing progress by state and local officials, Flint’s infrastructure is still not in a sustainable place. Citizens are still not able to drink water without filters.

Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton, Rev. Jack Eggleston and Rev. Ken Fouty from the Southeast Michigan Synod distribute water at Salem Lutheran Church in Flint, Mich.

Earlier this year, the Southeast Michigan Synod of the ELCA and ELCA Advocacy urged Congress to take action on this federal emergency. Now, the U.S. Senate is nearing a compromise to provide federal assistance to Flint and help the city recover its drinking water infrastructure. The current deal would also include assistance to states with similar emergency drinking water

situations, which often go overlooked. Congress does not have much time to act, and opposition to the bill still remains. Your Senators must hear from you now!

Call on your members of Congress at the ELCA Action Center to support Flint now!

ELCA World Hunger is continuing to accompany and provide assistance to the people of Flint. Support ELCA World Hunger initiatives by clicking here!

ELCA Advocacy works for change in public policy based on the experience of Lutheran ministries, programs and projects around the world and in communities across the United States. We work through political channels on behalf of the following biblical values: peacemaking, hospitality to strangers, care for creation, and concern for people living in poverty and struggling with hunger and disease.

Synod assembly season is in full-swing in the ELCA, and many readers of this blog will be helping raise awareness about hunger and poverty among their fellow Lutherans in the coming weeks.  Outside of assemblies and events, we often are asked for statistics and facts about hunger and poverty for congregations and groups.  So, ELCA World Hunger’s education team has put together a presentation with stats on global and domestic hunger and poverty that you can share.

The stats in the slides are from the most up-to-date sources we have.  This will differ for each of the four areas: US hunger, US poverty, global hunger, and global poverty.  Each of the sources we used are listed in the second slide, so you can read more about the measurements.  Follow the link at the end to download the whole presentation.

Thank you for all you do to help your community learn more about hunger and poverty and how together we can work for a just world in which all are fed!

How many people in the US were living in poverty in 2014?

Food insecurity means lacking access to sufficient amounts of affordable, healthy foods to live an active life.  In the US, food insecurity tends to be “episodic,” which means that there may be times when people can’t access the food they need.  This may be because of seasonal work or insufficient benefits that run out before the end of the month.

What percentage of people in different age groups experience poverty in the United States?

Global hunger tends to be chronic, rather than episodic, which means that hunger is often a daily reality, leading to problems like malnutrition and stunting. The good news is, the number has fallen in the last 30 years.  The bad news is, it is still too high.

How prevalent is undernourishment in different regions of the world?

The World Bank has begun using a new standard for global extreme poverty – $1.90 per day. This line better reflects real costs of food, clothing, and shelter around the world.  Again, the number is falling, with the World Bank projecting that about 700 million people will be living in extreme poverty in 2015.  Hopeful, but there is more work to be done.

To download the presentation, click here.

The Results Are In!

As the professional football season winds to a close each winter, fans across the country start planning parties large and small, usually with an abundance of pre-game snacks and treats, for the Big Game.  Jersey-clad diehards and fair-weather fans alike break bread, or more likely, wings and nachos, as they cheer on their favorite teams.  Amid piles of chips, dips, and rib tips, it can be easy to forget that so many people around the world and here in the United States often struggle to fill their own plates, let alone the plates of families and friends visiting for the Game.

This year, ELCA Lutherans worked to change that.  Team Carolina and Team Denver took part in ELCA World Hunger’s “Big Game” Synod Challenge to raise awareness and dollars to support ELCA World Hunger’s work in nearly 60 countries, including the United States. And the results are in!

It wasn’t quite the thumping we saw on the field, but Team Denver edged out Team Carolina to win this friendly competition.  Together, the teams and their supporters raised over $70,000, with Team Denver bringing in $35,621 and Team Carolina following closely with $34,672. Together with a few gifts that came in after the competition, over $77,012 were raised for ELCA World Hunger!  These gifts will support food pantries, jobs programs, shelters, health clinics, agricultural programs and much, much more.

How Did They Do It?

The Rocky Mountain, North Carolina and South Carolina Synods shared photos, videos and social media posts to get the word out and gifts in.  (Check out the Team Carolina video here, and the Team Denver video here.)  Here is where donations came from:

Both teams took advantage of Team ELCA, a new online fundraising platform, that congregations, groups and individuals can use to support ELCA World Hunger.  By forming a team, you can invite friends, family and neighbors to join your efforts.  Team ELCA is a great way to draw others together in your event.  From birthdays to youth group overnights to synod-wide events like ELCA World Hunger’s Big Game Challenge, Team ELCA can be an important tool in expanding the reach of your efforts.  Learn more about Team ELCA with a handy tip sheet that can be found here (https://blogs.elca.org/worldhunger/files/2016/03/Team-ELCA-101-1.pdf).

Thank you to Team Denver and Team Carolina, and to everyone who joined in this tremendous effort!  Your support will help our church live out its call to be “church for the sake of the world” in communities facing hunger and poverty around the world.

(This post originally appeared as “Living Earth Reflection: When Water Becomes No Longer Safe” on the ELCA Advocacy blog. It was written by Rev. Jack Eggleston, Director for Evangelical Mission and Assistant to the Bishop for the Southeast Michigan Synod of the ELCA.  Flint, Michigan, is in the Southeast Michigan synod.)

People around me know that I drink a lot of water. Many years ago, Carl, a member of the congregation I served, told me of the health benefits of

drinking water. I drink at least 80 ounces of water a day. When I am tired, a glass of water refreshes my body and renews my energy. Nothing renews like the life-giving water Jesus offers (John 4), but safe water is one of our most basic needs.

Last fall, when refilling my water bottle at Salem Lutheran Church in Flint, Mich., numerous people told me they had concerns about the water and that I should use bottled water. I filled my water bottle from the faucet, but along the road found it discolored and did not taste right. Only later did I learn how dangerous the water is. Flint’s water is unsafe, toxic and a danger to health.

Water pipes are corroded throughout the city, and lead contamination in many homes and at Salem Lutheran Church far exceed safe limits. Lead harms the blood and can damage the brain. After extended exposure, it builds up in organs and bones, remaining years after exposure. All of this contamination could have been prevented. When people complained and physicians reported unsafe levels of lead, the concerns were dismissed. After 18 months, the water is still unsafe for consumption, cooking or even doing the dishes.

Flint is one of the more impoverished cities in America. Local General Motors employment fell from a high of 80,000 in 1978 to under 8,000 in 2010. More than 40 percent of the people of Flint live below the poverty line. The population has declined from a high of 196,000 in 1960 to just under 100,000 today. The city, under an emergency manager, decided to switch water sources and failed to adequately treat the water. The state of Michigan houses nearly one-fifth of the world’s fresh surface water. It is hard to comprehend unsafe water with such great water supplies nearby.

The long unheard cries of people in Flint remind me of the Israelites refusing to drink the water at Marah because it was bitter (Exodus 15). They complained to Moses, and he cried out to the Lord. The Lord and Moses made the water sweet. Every day, the water crisis in Flint touches me more deeply and reminds me that there are many water concerns throughout the world. Global warming is drying up lakes. The Aral Sea, once one of the world’s largest inland seas is mostly desert now, having receded by more than 75 percent in recent decades. Lake Chad in Africa has diminished by nearly 80 percent over the last 30 years due to global warming, reduced rain and water extraction.

Sharing God’s gifts and life-giving water with people in Flint

After visiting Salem Lutheran Church in Flint, Bishop Donald P. Kreiss and Robin McCants, assistant to the bishop for advocacy and urban ministry, both of the ELCA Southeast Michigan Synod, shared the expanding depths of the crisis with the synod and the ELCA. With some government support

and generous response from the synod, ELCA World Hunger, and people around the ELCA, Salem is now one of the largest distributors of fresh bottled water in the city. Claimed in baptism, refreshed by life-giving water from Jesus that gushes up to eternal life, members of the ELCA are sharing God’s gifts and life-giving water with people in Flint.

Flint will need water for a long time to come. Find out how you can help by visiting the Southeast Michigan Synod website at www.semisynod.com.

Congress is currently considering funding for resources to make the water in Flint safe to drink again. Find out more and take action by visiting the ELCA Advocacy Action Center.

This Sunday when I preach at Salem, I will bring cases of water and two of my own large drinking water bottles. When I return home I will refill them from my faucet and remember the people in Flint. I will be more attentive to ELCA blogs and advocacy requests. Jesus, who gives life-giving water, compels me to do this and to act.

Elyssa J. Salinas

 
One wheel with many spokes is how the Community Empowerment Project in Burundi acts – one project that supports many communities or “collines” as community members make their hope for the future a reality in the present. With support from ELCA World Hunger through its implementing partner, the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), each colline focuses on a set of key issues related to the well-being of community members.  As the people take part in the activities, they develop the skills they will need to ensure long-term sustainability for themselves, their families and their neighbors.  These collines are “growing and growing” says Adela from the Musha colline the elected leader of the Musha colline’s self-help group. Her participation has helped her develop her own skills as she helps her fellow colline members. “As leader of the group, I have become more self-confident.” As a result of the program, Adela has seen an increase in food security and productivity. People in her town are now able to have meals three times a day instead of one, and they have extra funds for medical expenses and school.

Regina, a grandmother left homeless after the recent civil war in Burundi, is also a witness to the benefits of the project in Musha. With support from LWF, she received help she needed to build a new home and reclaim the swamp for agriculture. “I am able to get enough money to pay the school fees. I grow produce in the swamp – rice, bean and sweet potato,” she says.

Amina is from the Cendajura Commune and was a refugee during the later years of the civil war. In 2000, she left for Tanzania, traveling without food or water with her child until she got to a refugee camp. During the mobilization to return to Burundi, Amina moved from camp to camp, fearful of returning to a war-torn area. Amina is part of the Muslim community, but she thankful for the interreligious aid she is receiving in the form of a new house, “I am a Muslim, but I feel very well that it is Christians who help me.” She is slowly but surely gaining hope for her future as she is in conversation with LWF about a house for her family.

War, homelessness, and food production are not the only issues Burundians face, as community members in Mwiruzi well know. In this region, contaminated water has created a crisis.  As Oscar, a worker at the project site says, “For us, when there is a water shortage, we don’t have life. So we are fighting for life .” As with the activities at other collines, this project is community-initiated, and LWF is providing materials to aid in the building of wells and improved water systems.

Emile Nihende is a LWF facilitator, and is responsible for a colline where there are activities assisted by LWF. He spends only one weekend a month with his family and lives alongside the community he is helping. “I am here because I had the chance to be educated. Because I have been supported, now I want to share the fruits of this education with the community.” This perspective is key to the Community Empowerment Project’s sustainability.  As neighbors build their own skills and meet their needs together, the entire community can look toward long-term sustainable change together.

Gina Tonn

Global poverty is an issue that is intimately connected to global hunger. Throughout the world there are 795 million people who go to bed hungry each night, and many of those people are living in extreme poverty – on less than $1.25 a day. From small-farm families to expecting mothers, poverty and hunger are daily issues. In this post, Elyssa Salinas explores 10 facts about poverty and their connection to hunger.

1. 795 million people, or 1 in 9, are hungry in the world.

Throughout the world there are millions of people who go to bed hungry or undernourished. The United Nations defines undernourishment as “not able to acquire enough food to meet the daily minimum dietary energy requirements, over a period of one year” and hunger as being chronically undernourished.

2. 78 percent of people living in extreme poverty – on less than $1.25 a day – come from rural areas.

Poverty has declined globally, but development has not been even. While some countries in Asia are leading the decline, there are also areas in sub-Saharan Africa where the number of people in extreme poverty is increasing.

3. About 50 percent of people suffering from hunger are from small-farm families.

In small villages or remote areas there are not many opportunities for employment beyond small farming. These populations are vulnerable to crises, including natural disasters, changes in natural resources, and fluctuating harvests.

4. Of the other 50 percent of people suffering from hunger, about 20 percent are landless families that depend on farming; 10 percent are in communities dependent on fishing, herding or forest resources; and the last 20 percent are in urban areas mostly living in shanty towns.

One of the ways to reduce rural poverty has been through economic development that provides a greater job market, but this cannot stand on its own. Sustainable developments happen when social services are also brought in to help facilitate the economic changes that are taking place.

5. The number of people suffering from hunger could be reduced by up to 150 million if women had the same access to resources as men.

Empowering women is a vital part in defeating hunger. When women are educated and given resources, they are able to have greater yields in their harvest leading to greater economic prosperity and less child malnutrition.

6. 17 million children are born underweight due to inadequate nutrition before and during pregnancy.

Tradition and culture sometimes dictate food consumption for women. In some cultures, women eat last after the rest of the family has been fed, and during times of crisis, women generally are the first to sacrifice their food for the well-being of their families.

7. About 50 percent of all pregnant women in developing countries are anemic, which causes about 110,000 deaths during childbirth.

Expecting mothers require an increase in food and sometimes have special dietary needs in order to keep themselves healthy during pregnancy. When women do not have their dietary needs met, the results can be fatal for them and the child.

8. About 146 million children are underweight in developing countries due to acute or chronic hunger.

Many times child hunger is inherited because many expecting mothers do not have adequate nutrition during pregnancy. The effects of acute or chronic hunger can lead to irreversible damage.

9. 2.8 million children die every year from the effects of malnutrition.

Malnutrition is defined as “a condition resulting when a person’s diet does not provide adequate nutrients for growth and maintenance or when a person is not able to adequately utilize the food consumed due to illness.” Children who suffer from malnutrition are often less able-bodied, prone to illness and mentally deficient.

10. Globally, 1 in 4 children are stunted, and in developing countries the proportion rises to 1 in 3.

Stunting is “a gradual and cumulative process during the 1,000 days window from conception through the first two years of a child’s life.” When children are stunted, they have irreversible damage to their physical form, health and cognitive functioning.

ELCA World Hunger

Elyssa J. Salinas

Elyssa Salinas

I never thought that I would use a food pantry, but my first year in seminary changed that. I came to campus with barely enough money for a few school supplies and a meager pantry. It was embarrassing and I honestly thought I was the only one who needed help. My family was unable to help and I was anxious how I would survive the school year. On the day of orientation there was a bunch of announcements, but one in particular gave me a sense of belonging. There was an announcement about a food pantry on campus, where everyone was welcome. At first I was embarrassed as I walked toward the empty gym, but then I saw my classmates smiling and asking if I had enough for the week. There was no shame or stigma, just the honesty of our situation as students.

In recent years, college and graduate students are becoming the new face of food insecurity in the United States. The stigma usually associated with food and higher education is the weight gain associated with the glibly titled “freshman fifteen” (a fact in my experience), but now students have a different worry: how am I going to pay for food this week?

A study done at Western Oregon University found that 59% of students were categorized as food insecure. Food insecurity is defined by the United States Department of Agriculture as, “limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods or limited or uncertain ability to acquire acceptable foods in socially acceptable ways.” There could be many reasons for students to be vulnerable to food insecurity for instance, rising tuition costs, not qualifying for food stamps, cost of living, or the shifting demographic of students that come from low income groups or are first generation children of immigrants.  The 2008 recession was also a significant factor for many students.

The consequences for students facing food insecurity are steep. They include links to depression and lower academic performance, because how can you focus on a test when you are unsure of where your next meal is coming from?

Many campuses have started to respond to this reality through relief programs. According to a report in the Los Angeles Times, there were nearly 200 food pantries or banks for students across the country by August 2015.  Yet there is also a great deal of stigma surrounding hunger, so students are hesitant to talk about it. Although I had a great deal of support from my school and I confided in close family, this is the first time I am publically acknowledging my food insecurity.  Aware of this, some campuses have developed new models of pantries to alleviate stigma.  There are also programs that allow students to donate unused “swipes” of their meal cards to fellow students or other members of the community.

In a parable from Matthew 25, Jesus reminds us that when we feed one another, we are also feeding him. “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me” (Matt. 25:40b). When I was given that first handful of food from one of my peers, I was overjoyed that I would be fed and I was comforted that my community was helping to feed me.

To learn more about starting a campus food pantry, see this handy guide from the Oregon Food Bank.

To learn more about swipe programs, see Swipe Out Hunger.

Look for a post on our blog next week about the Campus Kitchens Project, a partner of ELCA World Hunger!

Elyssa Salinas is the program assistant for hunger education with ELCA World Hunger.  She can be reached at Hunger@ELCA.org.