FORGOTTEN EMERGENCIES:
AN UPDATE ON
LWR'S ONGOING WORK
Background:
LWR’s calling to address the root causes of global suffering compels us to remember all tragedies, even those which fall from the headlines. In this update we focus on forgotten emergencies around the world.
UPDATE ON FORGOTTEN EMERGENCIES 6/07
SUDAN: Though the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Darfur is well documented, the situation in southern Sudan has received less attention. After decades of civil war, a January 2005 peace agreement between north and south means that the Sudanese displaced by the 20-year conflict are able to return to their homes in the south. However, they often return with nothing, to communities struggling to support themselves. LWR is there to help by providing basic health services, shelter, clothing, quilts, school supplies, health kits and layettes to meet immediate physical needs. Looking to future sustainability, LWR is also providing seeds, tools and agricultural training to help returnees regain livelihoods, helping to supply medical clinics, and rehabilitating schools and latrines.
UGANDA: Conflict has displaced more than 1.7 million people in northern Uganda, where up to 30,000 children have been abducted by the Lord's Resistance Army, a rebel group battling the Ugandan government. An August 2006 peace agreement has encouraged approximately 300,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) to return home, however, conditions remain poor and many are still living in temporary shelters. LWR is working with returnees to develop income-generating projects and food security. In light of the February expiration of the terms of the peace treaty, there are fears of renewed brutalities and further displacements. LWR continues to work in refugee camps to provide access to clean water and sanitation, as well as mosquito nets and other necessities.
COLOMBIA: It is estimated that as many as 3.6 million people, many of them children and single mothers, have been forced to leave their homes as a result of Colombia’s 40 year civil conflict. The armed actors include paramilitaries, guerillas, and government forces. Massacres and kidnappings are an everyday occurrence. Colombia’s population of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) is second only to Sudan’s, and the UN has called Colombia’s humanitarian crisis the worst in the western hemisphere. LWR is working to help IDPs establish sustainable livelihoods such as farms and small businesses, and supporting community-based activities that seek to promote dialogue, resolution of conflict, and alternatives to violence. In the US, LWR educates and empowers its constituents to advocate to the US government for a more just policy toward Colombia.
This work is made possible by undesignated gifts to LWR’s general fund.
You may also call 1-800-LWR-LWR-2, or mail a check or money order to:
Lutheran World Relief -
P.O. Box 17061
Baltimore, MD 21298-9832
USA
Thank You for your help.
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. LWR is a member of Action by Churches Together.
