NEWS FROM
LUTHERAN WORLD RELIEF
December 29, 2003
In this news release:
- Lutheran World Relief Rushes $25,000 In Aid To Iran As Earthquake Toll Rises
For more information contact Jonathan Frerichs at (410) 230-2800.
LUTHERAN WORLD RELIEF RUSHES $25,000 IN AID TO IRAN AS EARTHQUAKE TOLL RISES
Baltimore, December 29, 2003 - Lutheran World Relief (LWR) this morning allocated an initial cash response of $25,000 for aid to survivors of the massive earthquake in Iran. LWR is requesting donations of cash to facilitate future rapid assistance.
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| A man carries a backback from a destroyed house in the heart of the ancient city of Bam December 28, 2003. Rescuers held out little hope of finding more survivors in the rubble of the earthquake which has killed up to 30,000 people. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay , courtesy www.alertnet.org |
As search and rescue operations intensify on the ground in Bam, near the epicenter of the quake, the global community is responding in the aftermath of the December 26 earthquake that destroyed both hospitals, up to eighty percent of the buildings and claimed as many as 30,000 lives. Longtime LWR partner, the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), sent two representatives to the area to meet with Iranian government officials and representatives of the Iran Red Crescent. The most urgent needs: tents, water tanks, blankets and medicine that can be purchased from Tehran and transported to the disaster area. Both LWR and the MECC are members of Action by Churches Together (ACT), an international alliance of humanitarian organizations.
The MECC is requesting US$98,000 to purchase these items and is sending a representative to Tehran to begin this purchase. As soon as feasible, other experts will assist in assessments, logistics and delivery of materials.
“Cash is by far the most versatile tool right now, in terms of helping survivors,” says Lutheran World Relief president Kathryn Wolford. “Even with LWR quilts and blankets and other supplies in warehouses in the region, it will take weeks to get these things to where they’re needed. Cash allows for local or nearby purchase of tents, water tanks and medicines that the survivors so desperately need.” Wolford also heads the governing board of ACT.
