Christian Citizenship - Disaster Relief
by: Jerry Price - Jun 26, 2006 - comment
“When the tsunami hit the southeast Pacific region in December 2004, Southern Baptist responded in enormous fashion. Southern Baptist responded with more than $16.6 million dollars in aid along with untold numbers of hours of blood, sweat, and tears as they worked to overcome the devastation and rebuild the lives of those affected. Below is only a sampling of some of the places where Southern Baptists donations to the tsunami relief effort went:
- $5 bought 20 large banana trees to restart an orchard.
- $8.75 provided a family with a sanitary kit that included a large trash bin, a small bucket, a toilet brush, a bottle of liquid soap, a laminated sign explaining the need to wash hands and a plastic jug for carrying water.
- $10 provided a family with a packet of rice, sugar, lentils, salt, Soya meat, dried fish, canned salmon, tea, soap and toothpaste—enough to last five days.
- $10 bought tools for a carpenter.
- $12 provided a family with a cooking set that included a rice cooker, teakettle, small pitcher, butcher knife, coconut shredder, tea strainer, dishpan, four plates and four cups.
- $20 bought a machine to help village women make coconut twine.
- $240 bought a zigzag sewing machine for a seamstress.
- $2,500 built a permanent house.
- $7,500 helped solve a whole community’s drainage problems.
- $8,543 refurbished a fishing boat that employs five fishermen.”
Excerpted from Tsunami Aid: A Sample List (Baptist Press), September 28, 2005
The volunteer workers who journeyed to Southeast Asia to aid in the disaster relief after the December 2004 tsunami made a real impact on some who saw what they were doing.
Three stories give a partial glimpse of that impact:
- “A team of volunteers was invited by Muslims in one village to help them demolish a heavily damaged building. After the second day of work, one of the villagers asked a volunteer what his faith was. The volunteer replied that he was a follower of Jesus Christ. Then the volunteer asked if he and his group could pray with—and for—the villagers. The villager said yes, assuming they would pray in English with their eyes closed. The group, however, prayed in the local language, held their hands out and kept their eyes open as an expression of respect for the local Muslim culture. The villager was so impressed by the volunteers’ hard work and respect that he introduced them to the other villagers as ‘ones surrendered to God through Jesus.’
- “Yusuf saw the tsunami wave coming and grabbed his 16-month-old child. He ran as fast as he could away from the wave so that he might save his child and himself. Though he repeatedly stumbled and fell in the surging water, he clung to his child with all of his strength. He made it to a school where he could climb the stairs and get to higher ground. As he ran up the steps, however, a panicked woman grabbed his arm. Yusuf, in a state of alarm himself, did everything he could to free himself from the woman’s grasp so he could save his child. Then the unthinkable happened: The woman accidentally wrenched Yusuf’s arm open and he watched helplessly as his young child fell into the water and was swept away. As Yusuf told his story to a volunteer, he allowed tears of anguish to drip from his eyes. Though his tears are looked upon as weak by his culture, they came nonetheless. Yusuf felt so much pain—and enough comfort in the presence of a volunteer who had come to ‘weep with those who weep’—that the tears had to come.
- “A Buddhist monk watched local Christians helping any and all tsunami survivors, regardless of their religion. He told a pastor, ‘I used to turn my head the other way in hatred when I walked by your church, but now I see the real heart of the church.’ He went on to say he owned enough land on which to build 10 houses—and that he would give it to the pastor if Christians wanted to build houses for those who lost their homes in the tsunami.”
Excerpted from Volunteers Catch Glimpses of Mercy Via Post-tsunami Work (Baptist Press), February 18, 2005
Even as Southern Baptists continued to respond to the devastation of the tsunami, further disasters called forth relief efforts, both abroad and at home. After the October 8, 2005, earthquake that spanned an area reaching from central Afghanistan to western Bangladesh, relief workers deployed to Pakistan and Kashmir where the most damage was done. In Pakistan alone, more than 39,000 people were killed (some estimates were as high as 54,000 casualties). Baptist aid workers responded with food, clothing, and medical assistance. (1)
In August and September, the Gulf Coast was pounded by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Southern Baptists once again responded to the needs and rushed in teams to provide food and other essentials to those left homeless and shaken. As early as October 5, Southern Baptists had prepared 6,087,549 meals for relief workers and residents—a figure that will be far-surpassed as the work continues. (2)
Then on October 24, 2005, Hurricane Wilma came ashore in Florida. Once again Southern Baptist Disaster Relief teams made their way to the area, helping people try to put their lives and property back together again. (3)
Southern Baptist Disaster Relief, with more than 30,000 trained volunteers ready to respond to local, state, and national emergencies, is the third-largest relief operation in the United States, surpassed only by the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army. (4) Together with those who contribute, organize, and pray, Southern Baptists have responded to the call to be Citizen Christians.
(1) Goldie Frances, Baptist Workers Offer Food, Shelter in Hard-to-Reach Pakistani Villages Hit by Earthquake (Baptist Press), October 18, 2005
(2) Tim Yarbrough, Meals Prepared by SBC Volunteers Hits Historic 6 Million (Baptist Press), October 5, 2005
(3) James A. Smith, Sr., Wilma Opens New Channels for Disaster Relief Work & Witness
(4) Mickey Noah, Record 7.3 Million Meals Provided to Gulf Hurricane Victims (Baptist Press), October 11, 2005
The disaster relief effort in the Gulf Coast since Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma has been tremendous. The following statistics are from the North American Mission Board/SBC:
| Volunteer Days Contributed | 164,972 |
| Meals Prepared | 14,511,789 |
| Jobs Completed (cleanup and recovery operations) | 16,973 |
| Showers Provided | 103,556 |
| Laundry Loads Completed | 25,826 |
| Children Cared For | 7,817 |
| Ham Radio Messages Sent | 3,107 |
| Gallons of Water Purified | 21,595 |
“Disaster Relief Update,” (North American Mission Board), February 13, 2006
[Note: the latest figure for disaster relief giving is $22,606,324.15. Source: email from Disaster Relief Office of NAMB.]
Further Learning
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