4/29/2006

Lutheran World Relief: Act Now to Stop Genocide in Darfur, Sudan

BALTIMORE, April 28 /Christian Newswire/ -- Lutheran World Relief joins more than 160 humanitarian agencies in the Save Darfur Coalition to co-sponsor the Rally to Stop Genocide in Washington, D.C this Sunday, April 30 to draw attention to the genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan. Concurrent rallies will be held in cities across the U.S.

“This genocide has been tragically under the radar screen for too long,” said LWR President Kathryn Wolford. “It’s time that we collectively raise our voices and insist on an end to the violence.”

For more than three years, government-backed militias known as Janjaweed have terrorized the people of Darfur. Estimates are that as many as 200,000 people have been killed, and about 2 million more have been violently driven from their homes and are now trying to survive in camps in their own country and in neighboring Chad. The influx of refugees to Chad has created tensions in that country as well.

Lutheran World Relief has a long history working in Sudan, and has been working with local partner organizations to assist people in the camps with shelter, water, sanitation, bedding, supplementary food and trauma counseling.

“We will continue our humanitarian work in Darfur,” Wolford continued. “But we insist that the international community take swift steps to stop the violence and protect those who have been displaced or forced to become refugees. There is something that each one of us can do to speak up on behalf of the people of Darfur. You can call or write to your Congressional representatives. You can give to organizations like LWR that are providing humanitarian aid on the ground.”

Specifically, Wolford said, LWR supports an increase in U.S. funding for international peacekeeping activities, including $173 million for Darfur peacekeeping, and the passage of the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act, which calls for strengthening the African Union to better protect civilians, imposing sanctions on individuals responsible for the atrocities in Darfur, and supporting peace negotiations to resolve the conflict.

Additional funds are urgently needed to support LWR’s humanitarian work on the ground in Darfur. Make a gift to LWR online at www.lwr.org , or make a donation by phone at 1-800-LWR-LWR-2.

WHO IS LWR? Headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland, Lutheran World Relief (LWR) has been responding to emergencies and disasters since its founding in 1945. Working through partners and global relief and development networks, LWR works in 35 countries to provide not only relief but to combat the causes of poverty and restore the dignity it robs from people's lives. We advocate for Fair Trade that helps farmer and artisan families earn a better income. We teach people to better care for themselves, their communities and the environment. We teach people how to be less vulnerable to natural disasters. We advocate with them for policy change that more fairly represents them. We counsel them after human and natural disasters, and help them recover with material aid and long-term programs. We do all of this exclusively with partners from the communities we serve.

LWR works in global development and relief on behalf of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. LWR is a member of Action by Churches Together.