Quiet Killer Grips Africa

Friday, March 24, A.D. 2006

Mostly missed by much of the world's media and attention, famine continues its quiet, deadly march across large parts of eastern Africa. After three years of drastically reduced rainfall, more than 11 million people across the countries of the Horn of Africa are facing severe food shortages, drastic loss of crops and herds, and serious malnutrition and disease.

The World Food Program (WFP) has already called the situation in Kenya "absolutely catastrophic." More than 3.5 million people there are in immediate need of food aid. This week the Week of Compassion Committee approved an additional grant of $24,000 from the Compassion Response Fund for a major Action by Churches Together/Church World Service appeal for the Kenya crisis, bringing WOC/Disciples response thus far to $42,000.

Earlier this week, ACT issued an emergency request to its member agencies for the growing food shortage in Tanzania. Local ACT partner, the Christian Council of Tanzania, is appealing for assistance to provide food relief to more than 80,000 of the most vulnerable people affected by the famine/drought there. Last week ACT made emergency grants from its Rapid Response Fund to assist church partners in Burundi and Ethiopia that are responding to food emergencies in those countries. WOC will be responding to the Tanzania appeal and this week made a supporting grant to the ACT Rapid Response Fund.

The food crisis in Africa has joined the Pakistan earthquake and the Darfur emergency as one of WOC's most pressing concerns. Additional appeals to support the famine relief and recovery work of our church partners in Africa are sure to come. Designated gifts from Disciples members and friends are needed and will be used entirely for the crisis. Online contributions can be made at www.weekofcompassion.org or sent to WOC, attn: Elaine Cleveland, PO Box 1986, Indpls, IN 46206. Also, more information and personal stories of the impact of the famine on people's lives can be found on the WOC website.

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Mike Weinman, Ozark Lakes Area Minister of the Christian Church in Mid-America, reports that last week's Week of Compassion grant in response to the tornadoes that swept through southwest Missouri is assisting 11 families in five Disciples congregations whose homes were damaged or destroyed by the storms, as well as supporting Disciples' participation in local community relief and response efforts in several communities. Also, the Reverend Dan Krumrei, pastor of Parkway Christian Church in Springfield, IL, expresses deep gratitude for the many expressions of concern and support, including a grant from WOC, in response to the tornado that ripped through the city last week and heavily damaged the church's facilities.

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For congregations using the WOC interactive Map/Poster, grants were made this week for emergency medical assistance in Palestine, ongoing landslide recovery efforts in the Philippines, the CWS spring storm appeal for Illinois and Missouri, the revised hunger appeal for Niger, and to assist Disciples in Nashville, TN, in building a Habitat home for a hurricane evacuee family. A year-to-date list of all WOC responses can be found on the WOC website, www.weekofcompassion.org. For a complimentary copy of the Map/Poster, call Elaine at 317.713.2442 or email ecleveland@woc.disciples.org.