Churches have responded with a number of appeals after a devastating earthquake hit Nepal, followed by a second earthquake weeks later. Over 8000 people have died in the disaster, and many thousands more left injured, homeless and vulnerable.
The World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) issued a joint statement calling on churches around the world to pray for the families of those who have died, and for those who have been injured or been affected by property loss and damage.
“We offer our heartfelt condolences to the people of Nepal and northern India who lost loved ones in their families and among friends in this powerful earthquake and its aftershocks. Our thoughts and prayers are with all those who are affected by this disaster,” said the Rev Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the WCC.
Act for Peace, the international aid agency of the National Council of Churches of Australia, and UnitingWorld, the international community development arm of the Uniting Church in Australia, both have partners on the ground in affected areas, working through the ACT alliance to assist people in need. Act for Peace have reported that at least 8 million people have been affected by these earthquakes.
To donate to the Act for Peace Nepal Emergency Earthquake Appeal visit http://www.actforpeace.org.au/Get-Involved/Our-latest-appeals/Nepal-Earthquake-Emergency-Appeal.
Or to donate to UnitingWorld’s Emergency Contingency Fund visit http://www.unitingworld.org.au/announcements/earthquake-hits-nepal/.
Top image: Despair shows on the faces of locals. Sangita Thing, 26, tells about her experiences in the countryside: “I was working in the field when the earthquake started. I ran to look for my children. When I arrived there was only a cloud of dust where my home had been. I was terrified. All the strength disappeared from my body and I collapsed on the ground. I was sure my children were dead. Then I heard their voices from the distance. They shouted, ‘we’re fine!'”
Image courtesy of Act Alliance/Finn Church Aid.