Living. Solidarity. Worldwide. Together Against Corona EMS provides €275,000 for coronavirus aid
Living. Solidarity. Worldwide. Together Against Corona
EMS provides €275,000 for coronavirus aid
(Stuttgart, 17. Juni 2020) Solidarity is especially called for in times of crisis. The member churches and mission societies of the Evangelical Mission in Solidarity (EMS) and many private donors are providing €275,000 to combat the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. The funds go to support the work of EMS member churches that are particularly hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic.
The General Secretary of the EMS, Reverend Dr Dieter Heidtmann, describes exactly how urgent this aid is: “The health and economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic are dramatic in India, Indonesia, South Africa and the Middle East. There is an enormous need for protective gear and medical care and many people have lost their jobs as a result of the lockdowns.” Since worship services have stopped, the churches have lost their income from collections, says Heidtmann. On top of all this, school fees are no longer paid and in many cases church reserves set aside for diaconal aid and salaries were only sufficient to cover a few weeks. Volunteers in the parishes continue to diligently supply food to the neediest and distribute relief aid and protective gear, “…but without outside support, they can only carry on doing this for a limited period of time.”
In the face of this situation, the EMS Fellowship launched an appeal for donations in March this year. The money received from member churches and many private donors has been distributed based on transparent criteria. For example, EMS member churches and associations have received funds to pay for the salaries of congregation workers in Indonesia and South Africa and of teachers at schools in Lebanon. Women’s groups in India have been sent the material they need to sew protective masks and the ingredients to make disinfectants. Food has been supplied to needy families and elderly care homes in India and displaced people in Sudan.
The Evangelical Mission in Solidarity (EMS) is a fellowship of churches and mission societies on three continents. 23 Evangelical churches and five mission societies in Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East together form an international network of long-term partnerships. Members of the EMS in Germany include the Protestant Churches in Baden, Hesse-Nassau, Kurhessen-Waldeck, the Palatinate and Wuerttemberg as well as the Moravian Church, the German East Asia Mission (DOAM), the Basel Mission German Branch (BMDZ) and the Evangelical Association for the Schneller Schools (EVS).
Press contact: Regina Karasch-Böttcher, karasch@ems-online.org,
tel. +49 711 636 78 85, mobile +49 178 62 000 52
