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21.12.2022

UEM-communion helps people in Sri Lanka

For families with children, a daily hot meal at the church is an important support.

The prolonged economic crisis in Sri Lanka is worsening the situation for local people:

Food shortages and hunger are commonplace for several million people in Sri Lanka due to the country's biggest economic crisis since independence. The local Methodist Church is helping the people in need as best they can. The church is now receiving support from the Evangelical Church in the Rhineland, the Evangelical Church of Westphalia, the Evangelical Church of Hesse-Waldeck and the United Evangelical Mission (UEM) with emergency aid totalling 45,500 euros.

The de facto bankrupt country can no longer pay for important goods that are imported from abroad, such as medicine, food, fuel and gas for cooking. In this situation, the Methodist Church of Sri Lanka, which is also a member church of the UEM, has made it its task to help the many economically distressed people as much as possible. Almost 28 percent of the approximately 21 million people in Sri Lanka are affected by food shortages and suffer from hunger. According to the United Nations, 2.9 million children live in immediate need. High inflation and the rising cost of daily necessities are forcing households in the Southeast Asian Island nation to spend most of their total income on food. As a result, people in Sri Lanka hardly have any money left to buy medicine, for example.

The local Methodist Church, which has around 32,000 members, is planning to set up a comprehensive social aid programme, the so-called "Good Samaritan Journey", as an immediate measure to provide direct help through the provision of food as well as through awareness work, support measures in the field of education, counselling and medical care. For example, the most needy, including women and children, receive a nutritious meal twice a week. In addition, chronically ill people receive free medical care. In view of the great need throughout the country, the church also trains counsellors to identify these particularly needy people in order to provide them with additional support. Last but not least, the church's emergency aid is linked to the hope of rebuilding the country. "Our local member church sees itself as an important symbol of hope. It creates the basis for a social network and promotes cohesion in the congregations through church services and prayers. And the people who are currently suffering particularly from the crisis receive basic supplies that are essential for survival. This is also linked to the hope for a better life," is how Rev. Dr Dyah Krismawati, head of the Asia Region of the UEM, describes the challenges facing the church in the coming months.

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Find the press release here.

 

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