How much of my donation will go toward the South Asia disaster?
How is LWR responding?
Is LWR evangelizing through these relief efforts?
I want to volunteer with the relief efforts. How do I do that?
Did LWR collect quilts, kits, etc. for the disaster victims in South Asia?
Can I adopt one or more of the children orphaned by this disaster?
How much of my donation will go toward the South Asia disaster?
100% of the money donated to LWR for “South Asia Tsunami” is going toward relief and recovery efforts for the communities affected by the tsunami.
How is LWR responding?
LWR has implemented a three-phase approach. We have completed Phases One (Crisis Response) and Two (Transitioning from Relief to Rehabilitation), and have now begun Phase Three (Recovery). For information on how LWR continues to address the needs of those affected by the tsunami, please visit the following:
Regular updates are available via Newsline, LWR’s electronic news service. To receive Newsline, sign up online at http://lwr.org/news/index.asp.
Is LWR evangelizing through these relief efforts?
Following the example Jesus sets in the story of the Good Samaritan, LWR expresses faith through action, serving people in need without regard for religious affiliation. This commitment often permits LWR to work in areas prohibited to other church groups. For example, after WWII, the authoritarian communist leader of former Yugoslavia, Marshal Tito, allowed LWR to provide aid to his country, even as he denied entry to most other aid agencies. “We’re not Christians,” said one of Tito’s representatives later in a state dinner. “But we have always respected you because you have always practiced what you preached. You said you were there to help people in the name of your Jesus, and that’s what you did.”
It is LWR’s role to provide Christ’s healing presence to suffering people, quietly offering hope where disaster, war and injustice prevail. Through the years, LWR has become expert in being the hands of Christ, “doing” unto others. When considering the body of Christ, each member (or part) of the body is equally important and each part has its own specific role or function. Some organizations are experts at being the mouth of Christ, providing words and messages of God. LWR is expert at being the hands of Christ: “I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink...I was naked and you gave me clothing…Just as you did it to one of the least of these you did it to me.” All parts of the body glorify the same body of Christ and serve as witnesses of his love in the world.
The good news is that those benefiting from our relief efforts know that it is made possible by Lutheran World Relief and those who support our work in Christian love. Therefore, the work itself is seen as a witness and a blessing from God.
I want to volunteer with the relief efforts. How do I do that?
Lutheran World Relief works with local NGOs and other grassroots organizations in the area to implement our relief efforts. Our partner organizations have experienced staff that are able to organize and mobilize people within their own region to assist, rather than adding time and expense by bringing in people from outside the region to do the work. Local volunteers and even disaster victims themselves are available and benefit from being actively involved in their own relief activities.
Volunteer opportunities with other relief agencies are extremely rare, and usually limited to people with prior disaster experience, technical skills (such as health, engineering, etc.) and fluency in the country’s language.
Did LWR collect quilts, kits, etc. for the disaster victims in South Asia?
After completing a thorough needs assessment and establishing appropriate distribution channels, LWR dispatched its first two shipments of material resources for tsunami survivors in South Asia. The shipments included quilts, layettes, health kits and school kits. The shipments were filled using items already stocked in LWR's warehouses, thanks to support of parish groups who had been donating the items throughout the previous year. Your regular, ongoing donations will ensure a well-stocked inventory of material resources to use in our long-term work around the world, and in future emergencies when appropriate.
LWR has specific guidelines for what types of items we accept. Those guidelines are online at: http://lwr.org/parish/index.asp. Please review these guidelines carefully before making a donation of material resources to LWR.
Our relief and rebuilding efforts rely most heavily on cash donations which allow us to purchase items locally. Thanks to the generosity of our donors, who have fully funded our relief and rebuilding effort, we have been able to purchase cooking utensils, tarps, and appropriate clothing such as saris and dhotis locally. Purchasing these items locally provides the quickest response and gives a much-needed boost to local economies.
Can I adopt one or more of the children orphaned by this disaster?
Lutheran World Relief does not work with international adoptions. In most cases it is preferable to place orphaned children with members of their extended family or with other families of the same culture, and many governments do not allow foreign adoptions.
For additional information please visit the UNHCR web site at www.unhcr.org and the State Department Office of Children’s Issues at www.travel.state.gov.
