Covenant News

Funds for Ethiopian Refugee Camps

ETHIOPIA (May, 1999) - Covenant World Relief and the Northwest Conference of the Evangelical Covenant Church are cosponsoring a project to raise at least $50,000 to provide clothing for pre-school and primary school-age children in the Pugnido and Dimma refugee camps in Western Ethiopia.

The two camps are located in areas served by Covenant churches affiliated with the Evangelical Covenant Church of South Sudan.

"While on a visit to support and encourage these Covenant congregations in January, Jim Sundholm and Jerry Rice became aware of the desperate need for basic clothing for children in these camps," said Tim Ek, director of Covenant World Relief headquartered in Chicago. "Knowing of Ethiopia's policy of not accepting used clothing for this purpose, they discussed the possibility of contracting with an Ethiopian clothing manufacturer to make new clothes for these children," Ek explained.

Local authorities were enthused about the proposal, Ek said. The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) promised that if the Covenant provides help, then UNHCR will provide similar assistance for other refugee camps in Ethiopia. The Program Office of the UNHCR will coordinate the project and maintain partner accountability, overseeing product quality control and distribution. The organization's implementing partner in Ethiopia, Radda Barnen, will serve as project and financial manager, preparing and administering the budget, accounting for donations and administering disbursement of funds.

Covenant churches located in the Northwest Conference will receive an offering for this special effort later this spring, Ek advised. It is suggested that other Covenant churches desiring to participate in the fund-raising program could consider a door offering sometime in May. Collected funds should be forwarded to Covenant World Relief, 5101 N. Francisco Avenue, Chicago, IL, 60625.

Churches and interested individuals are also encouraged to regularly check this Covenant website for periodic updates on the project and additional ways in which assistance may be rendered. For those interested in obtaining additional information and/or educational resources concerning world hunger, visit the Bread for the World website at www.bread.org. Covenant World Relief has been a supporter of Bread for the World for several years.

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