News Briefs: February 24, 2006
Emergency Situations: Philippines, Mozambique, Bolivia
Philippines - On February 17 a massive landslide buried an entire village in Southern Leyte province in the Philippines. The landslide roared down a mountainside, burying around 500 houses and an elementary school packed with around 246 schoolchildren.
Four evacuation centers are serving at least 439 families (around 1,645 persons) while other families are currently staying with friends and relatives. One hundred and twenty-two (122) bodies have been recovered from the landslide site, 19 survivors have been rescued while 996 persons are still missing and feared buried beneath 25-30 meters of mud.
The National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP) is coordinating the emergency response.
Mozambique – A strong earthquake measuring 7.5 on the scale of Richter took place on February 22 in large parts of Mozambique and Zimbabwe.
CLWR supported staff in Mozambique reported that the 3-minute shock could be felt in the project areas but so far damage has not been very serious. Not all areas inside our projects, however, have been reached.
Later reports confirmed that four people had been killed in Mozambique and Zimbabwe and 160 houses had been destroyed.
In Tete town the shock seemed very strong, but no buildings collapsed.
Bolivia - Unprecedented heavy rains lashed Bolivia in January and February. In the highlands alone rainfall has been nearly three times the annual average. Consequently the highlands and the Amazon River basin were severely flooded, causing serious damage to houses, crops, roads and other basic infrastructure. Rural families, who rely mainly on subsistence farming, were badly affected.
The most affected areas are located in the department of Santa Cruz, where CLWR’s office is located, and La Paz y Beni. According to the latest reports 33,856 families have been affected and 12,742 are in need of humanitarian aid.
Action by Churches Together member in Bolivia Lutheran World Relief (LWR), through its partner Fundación Tierra, is proposing to assist 200 families in 10 communities of the Cuatro Cañadas municipality in the Santa Cruz Department. They will provide seeds and sheep to contribute to the economic recovery of the affected families. They will also provide training in disaster mitigation and preparedness and promote reforestation activities.
CLWR continues to monitor all of these emergencies.
CLWR Staff Transitions
CLWR has said good bye to some familiar faces and will soon be welcoming a new one.
Rick Fast served as public affairs officer for CLWR since 2003. He provided CLWR with improved media relations, excellent writing and the well designed newsletter, Partnership. Rick resigned in December, 2005 to become the Director of Communications for Mennonite Central Committee.
Tim Graff has been CLWR's Director of Communications since 2003. He has helped enhance CLWR's presence in both the larger church and general public through speaking engagements, the Christmas Gifts from the Heart campaign and the One Good Thing program. Tim resigned in February to return to congregational ministry as pastor of All Saints Lutheran in Calgary, Alberta.
Communication's questions and issues will continue to be addressed by other staff in the interim.
CLWR will be welcoming Bob Granke as executive director starting March 1. Bob is coming from Lutheran World Services where he was involved with overseeing humanitarian programs around the world.
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