Lutheran Disaster Response is supporting the Southeastern Synod of the ELCA in the aftermath of the bombing in Nashville, providing disaster chaplains to deliver spiritual and emotional care to those impacted by the bombing.
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In addition to a situation report on Pacific typhoons, Lutheran Disaster Response provides a wrap-up and infographic on the record-breaking 2020 Atlantic hurricane season.
Thank you for your continual support for Lutheran Disaster Response as they continue to accompany impacted communities through the East Coast, Gulf Coast, and Central America.
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An earthquake, mass displacement, low-latitude tropical cyclones, COVID-19, a plague of locusts – 2020 has been a year of calamities in East Africa like no other. Among the most destructive and widespread for ELCA companions in the region was flooding, explored here in this letter by Daudi Msseemmaa.
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Lutheran Disaster Response shares a situation report on Hurricane Eta, and Lutheran World Relief shares a video (below) following the devastating twin hurricanes of Eta and Iota, showing the devastation to which the LWR staff in Honduras are rapidly responding.
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Naples, Italy, was struck by COVID-19 in the spring, when the country faced the highest COVID-19 death toll in the world. Lutheran Disaster Response supported a Lutheran hospital, L'Ospedale Evangelico Villa Betania, with a grant to provide personal protective equipment and more as they treated people with the virus.
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In India, many people who had migrated to another part of the country for work lost their jobs due to COVID-19 closures. Without income or food, many made the long journey home on foot.
As church together we are there. Lutheran Disaster Response have supported companion churches as they have distributed water and food, and opened their church doors for rest.
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Lutheran Disaster Response is actively engaged with Lutheran Social Services of Southern California and three California synods (Pacifica, Sierra Pacific, and Southwest California) to assess the situation and need of affected communities. We expect immediate needs to be food and other supplies, as well as emotional and spiritual care for those impacted by the wildfires.
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Lutheran Disaster Response is supporting Bodo Evangelical Lutheran Church to provide relief assistance to affected families in Assam, an eastern state of India. They’ll be distributing food, hygiene kits, mosquito nets, and tin sheeting for roof repair.
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We share a letter written by Interim Bishop Murray D. Finck of the Southwest California Synod, addressing the series of fires spreading through California.
“I have worn the shirt pictured above a number of times in the past years…on the island of Kawai; in San Diego; Fallbrook; New Orleans. I want to put this shirt on now and go somewhere where I can be helpful, but today I do not believe that is possible. Instead I have gone to elca.org and made a contribution.”
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On March 2-3, 2020, Tennessee was battered by a series of tornadoes. Inspiritus, an affiliate social ministry organization of Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR), was one of the first response groups to arrive on the scene in Cookeville, TN, which was devastated by an EF2 tornado.
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On August 4, 2020, an explosion rocked Beirut, Lebanon, with hundreds dead and thousands injured and missing. Damage extends as far as six miles away.
Lutheran Disaster Response is in communication with ecumenical partners in Beirut, whose buildings were damaged, but staff members are safe. LDR is prepared to accompany them as they and their communities recover.
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Lutheran Disaster Response is supporting ELCA sent it around the United States in response to the pandemic with attention to vulnerable communities, e.g. homeless, senior, health unemployed populations. LDR is helping synods to support , hot meal delivery, and meal distribution. These ministries prioritize ethnic communities, underrepresented groups, and those whose livelihoods by the COVID-19 pandemic.
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On May 20, Cyclone Amphan made landfall in India and Bangladesh. It was the first super cyclone in the Bay of Bengal since 1999. Amphan caused 128 deaths and the damage to homes and infrastructure made Amphan the costliest cyclone in the northern Indian Ocean. In Bangladesh and eastern India, millions were left without power, including the entire city of Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal. With Lutheran World Service India Trust, LDF is providing food to families in the Kolkata’s slums.
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As of June 3, over 6.2 million people have been infected and over 379,000 people of lost their lives due to the rapid spread of COVID-19. The pandemic is affecting all aspects of life for people across the globe.
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Daudi Msseemmaa, the ELCA’s regional representative in East Africa, writes: “During a severe drought in 2008-2009, I spent time in dusty villages where the carcasses of livestock littered the ground and hungry children fainted in class. There was a lot of suffering. But I did not encounter hopelessness, even among malnourished mothers whose couldn’t provide enough breast milk for their infants. They had a saying – God is far, but he is very near.”
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As of May 17, 2020, over 4.5 million people have been infected and over 307,000 have lost their lives due to the rapid spread of COVID-19. The pandemic is affecting all aspects of life for people across the globe.
Lutheran Disaster Response is supporting partners around the world during this time. Since January 2020, LDR International has contributed over one.1 million in 26 countries in response to the pandemic.
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Last year, the Lutheran Disaster Response-US (LDR) network discussed climate change – what it is and why we care. We were inspired by the stories of the communities we accompany and driven to action by the questions that were asked. The network asked us, “What does this mean for our work?” We heard their question and happy to announce the 2019 LDR Consultation: Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation. The event will be held October 14-17 in New Orleans, Louisiana.
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I grew up the daughter of a water and wastewater engineer. On summer vacations and road trips of any length, our family made detours to visit water treatment plants.
I think it was by osmosis that I came to know that there is a relationship between human activity and the natural environment and so it is not surprising that I ended up as one of the Disaster Response Coordinators in the Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR) network. Read the full story »
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Hurricane Dorian hit the Bahamas with devastating force, lingering over the islands for over 24 hours. One month later, over 50 people have been reported dead with hundreds still missing and thousands left homeless in the Bahamas. Crippled infrastructure, closed businesses, and a tainted water supply are exacerbating. In North Carolina, many homes have been damaged and assessments are ongoing.
In this post, Bishop Elizabeth Eaton shares an overview of the last two years of hurricane relief, and Lutheran Disaster Response provides a situation update on Hurricane Dorian.
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It’s been four months since Cyclone Idai hit Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe. Idai is the most severe natural disaster to affect southern Africa in over three decades.
Your swift response rushed aid to families in desperate need. You are helping them access safe water, stay healthy and replace essential items that were lost.
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