WELS donating to Asia disaster relief
Filed Under: China, Committee on Relief, COR, cyclone, disaster, donation, earthquake, myanmar, Relief
WELS members, through the synod's Committee on Relief, are donating $50,000 to support relief efforts in the wake of the recent earthquake in China and the cyclone that struck Myanmar.
WELS Relief, with the assistance of WELS Board for World Missions, is channeling $25,000 through SALEM—the South Asia Lutheran Evangelical Mission in Hong Kong. Dr. John Lawrenz, president of Asia Lutheran Seminary, is working with SALEM leadership to identify an appropriate relief agency through which the funds would then be distributed.
The 7.9 magnitude quake struck May 12 in Sichuan Province in south central China, hundreds of miles from the nearest WELS contacts. Chinese state media reports the government fears the death toll could rise to 50,000.
WELS Relief is also contributing $25,000 to relief efforts in Myanmar, where by some estimates more than 100,000 are dead after Tropical Cyclone Nargis struck May 3. WELS has no official contacts in the Southeast Asian nation formally known as Burma and so is donating the funds to the international relief agency CARE.
While there have been widespread reports of the Myanmar government impeding the international relief effort, CARE has been working in the country for 14 years. It has a long-established relationship with the government and has about 500 staff people on the ground. They were in place even before the cyclone struck.
In a letter to WELS Relief Chairman Rev. Philip Schupmann, Heather Simpson, executive director of CARE's central region, says the gift from WELS will be used to provide safe drinking water for survivors. "The gift from the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod will be allocated for the Myanmar Emergency Fund to directly benefit the affected millions," writes Simpson. "On behalf of the men, women, and children who will benefit from your support, thank you."
For more information on WELS Relief, to view the entire letter of thanks from CARE, or to learn how you can donate to WELS Relief, go to www.welsrelief.net
