A Salvation Army response to flooding in Nigeria has received a positive response from beneficiaries and excellent coverage in the local media. The floods affected several council areas around the capital city, Lagos.
More than 500 families (over 3,000 people) were assisted, with funds provided through International Emergency Services, which is based at The Salvation Army's International Headquarters in London. Each family received enough food for a month and non-food items including clothes, babywear, wellington boots, slippers and toiletries. The total relief effort cost about US$60,000.
The internally displaced people and local government officials were thankful to The Salvation Army and its donors. They were particularly grateful for the way in which everyone had been treated with dignity. One local newspaper reported that The Salvation Army 'appeared on the scene like a matador and wrestled the bull of deprivation to submission, giving these people a new lease of life'.
The emergency response moved on to the city of Ibana, around 100 miles to the north, where 2,000 people have been displaced by floods and more than 100 have lost their lives.
Comment
On Friday, September 30, 2011, John Umasanthiram said:
You are doing great work. Keep up the good work. Where there is a need, there is The Salvation Army. We praise God for the many committed people who are willing to give their time, talent and money to help when people are in need. The motto and the spirit of The Salvation Army is the same all over the world. God bless you.
So, whether you are a shelter worker, a bandmaster, a bookkeeper or a pastor; if you work with youth in your corps or lead the Over-60 Club; if your office is in a headquarters or in a canteen on the street; if your clientele are hungry and poor, or wealthy and ready to donate; if your work involves sorting clothes in the thrift store, or finding homes for families in need— you are mission.
“My heartfelt prayer is that peace will be immediate and comprehensive in Gaza and throughout the world; that the desolation will cease and a profound goodwill toward one another will shape the future of humankind," says General Lyndon Buckingham, international leader of The Salvation Army. "Amid the complexity, I urge the citizens of the world to pray for peace and a new desire to ‘love your neighbour as yourself’.”
John Umasanthiram
Indonesia