November 15, 2006

Oblation and World Hunger Aid Helps
War Victims in Lebanon and Israel

Grants from the Community of Christ Oblation and World Hunger Funds in November will provide a total of $70,000 to aid victims of war in Lebanon and Israel. Wallace B. Smith, chair of the World Hunger Committee, said “Our emphasis on peace and justice calls us to stand with the victims of war and disaster.” Made possible by your generous contributions, these grants reflect our dedication as a faith movement to peace, justice, and reconciliation.

Formal grant proposals were submitted to the church by Counterpart International and the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC). Counterpart International is a nonprofit organization dedicated to building a just world through service and partnership. The JDC is a non-partisan, apolitical organization that sponsors programs of relief, rescue, and renewal outside the United States.

A school destroyed by bombing in southern Lebanon photo by Thoric Cederstrom

Southern Lebanon

Matt Bolton, consultant for Counterpart International, reported that “Lebanon’s infrastructure, especially in the south, has been pulverized by the conflict [between Israel and Hezbollah],” and “an enormous amount of people were displaced.” The area is burdened by major health care and food insecurity crises.

There is no primary healthcare in southern Lebanon and the one existing very basic mobile clinic is overburdened by needs in the area. Oblation aid of $30,000 will support development of a new, well-equipped mobile health clinic. This will have an immediate and lasting impact as permanent health posts are not expected to be created for some time and will likely never be established in some villages.

Another major toll on the people was taken in the loss of livestock. Most of the animal herds in the south were slaughtered. Counterpart International vice president Thoric Cederstrom said, “I would not have believed it had I not seen it with my own eyes.” For these rural families livestock (typically goats and poultry) serve many needs, including a form of savings/assets to be accessed for major family needs such as illnesses and weddings.

A World Hunger grant of $30,000 will support a livestock replacement project that operates through a system focused on recapitalizing the most vulnerable households. This initiative will have immediate and lasting benefits as a sustainable project for communities.

Thoric reported that the people he has met in southern Lebanon are already working hard to put their lives back together. He said, “The resilience of the Lebanese people is truly incredible, especially in the face of such terrible devastation.”

Northern Israel

In July, volunteers of JDC's AMEN program packed play kits with games, arts and crafts materials, and magazines for children living in northern Israel bomb shelters. photo courtesy of JDC

Residents of northern Israel from several faith movements were displaced and suffered devastation from being in the conflict zone. Now people are returning to their homes and making efforts to rebuild their lives.

A $10,000 Oblation grant will help provide for the JDC’s project in the region where the Jordan River emerges from the Sea of Galilee. Called “Towards a New Galilee,” the project is focused on helping people recover from the impact of war and establish foundations for their future.

Especially interested in the conflict zone’s most vulnerable residents, “Towards a New Galilee” emphasizes helping children and elderly people recover from and deal with the war’s aftermath. Michael Novick, JDC executive director of strategic development said, “We welcome the opportunity to work with [Community of Christ] in response to the exceptional needs that exist in [northern Israel], most especially affecting children and the elderly.”

Through “Towards a New Galilee,” post-traumatic support will be offered for children and families, as well as related training for teachers and counselors. “Warm rooms,” staffed by trained professionals, will be set up in schools as places of refuge for children dealing with intense emotions and post-traumatic stress. Community facilities for children that were damaged will also be restored.

Post-trauma counseling and workshops will be offered for community workers and staff of homes for the elderly. Specialized workshops will serve elderly people directly, including Holocaust survivors and others for whom old traumas have been reawakened during this conflict.

Standing with the Vulnerable

Our church’s call to share the peace of Jesus Christ in all its dimensions is a call rooted in the gospel that compels us to reach out to all of the most vulnerable. Paul Davis, Presiding Bishopric, said, “As a church seeking for peace and justice, we must care for and render humanitarian assistance based on need. We are reaching out to the victims.”

These needs arise throughout the world, often where the church has no official presence. The Oblation and World Hunger grants to aid victims of the conflict in Lebanon and Israel are in line with the tradition for Community of Christ contributors to support those whose lives have been torn apart by war. Grants to war-ravaged countries including Iraq, Afghanistan, and Bosnia, have always been prompted in part by the desires voiced by church members to offer humanitarian aid to people living in such devastating circumstances.

Most of us will not be able to go to Lebanon or Israel to physically extend our hands to the children, families, and individuals in need there. We will not directly witness the relief or possibly even joy on the faces of people who regain hope because of programs our financial contributions and prayers help support. But by sharing generously with those in need, we are helping proclaim our broader vision of hope for creation—the cause of Zion, the peaceable kingdom.

--Kendra Friend reporting