LUTHERAN WORLD RELIEF
LAUNCHES WAVE OF GIVING
Baltimore, December 29, 2004 — The list of things not affected by the December 26th tsunami is far shorter than the things that were destroyed. Road, rail, port and other infrastructure suffered extensive damage – inhibiting immediate relief efforts and delaying rebuilding efforts. Houses, most merely mud huts with thatched roofs, stood no chance at all against the angry wall of water – their contents suffering the same fate. Fishing boats and nets, some having been handed down from one generation to the next…all are gone. Standing crops, the thin line between survival and starvation for peasant farmers, have been completely decimated.
The need for relief is undeniable. The need for long-term assistance also is a necessity. Today, Lutheran World Relief (LWR) introduces a long-term rebuilding effort for the countries of South Asia affected by what some people have termed the worst disaster in history. The initiative, called WAVE OF GIVING™, seeks to raise at least $5 million dollars to rebuild lives, create livelihoods and restore dignity to millions affected by the tragic events of December 26 th.
People walk past ruins left after devastation caused by tidal waves at Pathong beach, near Phuket, December 27, 2004. REUTERS/Luis Enrique Ascui, courtesy www.alertnet.org
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The WAVE OF GIVING™ will:
- Build more elevated disaster shelters like the ones that survived this tsunami for shelter during high waters from cyclones, tsunamis and other storms.
- Provide locally available building materials to rebuild homes and businesses.
- Provide psychological counseling to survivors dealing with loss of loved ones.
- Train community-based groups in disaster preparedness, early warning, evacuation and first aid.
- Restore small businesses for fisherfolk, farmers and others.
- Repair or rebuild clinics, schools and community centers.
The tsunami struck an area, and a population, already marginalized socially and economically – who daily struggle to provide life’s necessities. Many had struggled mightily to claim the meager possessions they owned that the waters washed away. It will take many of them years to get back even to that basic level.
Donations to WAVE OF GIVING™ will enable LWR to work together with trusted and proven organizations in the affected areas. This money will stimulate local economies in dire need of the infusion of cash. It will be used to buy specific and much needed items, again purchased locally to create jobs and reduce transportation costs. Coordinated by Lutheran World Relief, Wave of Giving funds will be used as judiciously and monitored as closely as regular funds this top-ranked relief and development organization manages.
LWR’s work following Hurricane Mitch followed a similar path, rebuilding lives and teaching people in Central America ways to better provide for themselves and protect their environment. In many cases, communities report that they are better off now, and more prepared for the next disaster than they were before Hurricane Mitch struck.
WHO IS LWR? Lutheran World Relief, an international nonprofit organization, works to end poverty and injustice by empowering some of the world's most impoverished communities to help themselves. With partners in 35 countries, LWR seeks to promote sustainable development with justice and dignity by helping communities bring about change for healthy, safe and secure lives; engage in Fair Trade; promote peace and reconciliation; and respond to emergencies. LWR is headquartered in Baltimore, Md. and has worked in international development and relief since 1945.
Lutheran World Relief is a ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS), individuals and parish groups in international relief, development, advocacy and social responsibility.
For more information contact Emily Sollie at esollie@lwr.org or 410-230-2802.
