Covenant News

Covenant Relief Work Under Way in Colombia

COLOMBIA (February, 1999) - Some 20,000 pounds of emergency supplies have been sent to victims of Colombia's worst earthquake in a century, thanks to cooperative efforts between Covenant World Relief and American Airlines.

The relief aid is being distributed through the Covenant's World Relief partners to people who have taken refuge in emergency shelters.

"While our Covenant World Relief's major partner at this point is the World Relief organization (the international assistance arm of the National Association of Evangelicals), we are also in communication with the Covenant Church of Colombia to explore additional ways we can link them in responding to the needs of their neighbors," said Tim Ek, Covenant World Relief director.

The earthquake struck western Colombia, with a recent death toll listing 721 individuals. That total is rising daily as more bodies are uncovered, however. Some 20 towns and villages in five provinces were devastated.

In Armenia, a city of 300,000 in the Andes Mountains, about half of the buildings have been destroyed and some 180,000 individuals are reported homeless. At the present time, the greatest need is emergency funding so that onsite relief workers will have the necessary resources to purchase the emergency supplies that are available in that immediate area.

"Covenant World Relief always seeks to provide help in a way that helps people help themselves," Ek said. "We also channel our resources through local Christian churches as a way of helping the church be the church in providing resources, so that brothers and sisters in Christ can respond to both the physical and spiritual needs of their neighbors," he added.

Individuals interested in assisting in the relief effort may direct contributions to Covenant World Relief, 5101 N. Francisco Avenue, Chicago, Illinois, 60625. Updated information will appear on this CovNews site as it becomes available.

There are no Covenant churches located in any of the affected areas. "Relatives of Covenanters were affected, however," reports Gary Sander, field representative in Colombia. Wilson Herrera, director of CHET in Chicago, is from the principal city hit by the earthquake. His family is alive, Sander reports, but there is considerable damage to homes, with some 70% of that city declared destroyed.

Printable version of this page.