St. John’s supports Karen Anderson, an ELCA missionary in Chile. We recently received the following email from her. The newsletter with these inspiring stories is downloadable here.
Dear Friends of EPES,
In the midst of the suffering and uncertainty ravaging our world since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, as Christians we are called to be co-creators of a more just future. This series, Stories of Hope and Resistance from Chile, present accounts of concrete ways EPES is working to address the crisis as it affects the communities, families and people we love and work with in Chile. You may have seen that the situation in Chile is very critical – https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-06-16/once-a-covid-role-model-chile-now-among-the-world-s-worst-hit
At EPES, we are so proud of the leadership of our Nutrition, Justice, Gender and Health project and the workshops they have been leading – one of which is outlined here. We are delivering huge sacks of soil and hundreds of seedlings to twenty health promoters TODAY as one of the outcomes of this project. We have several levels of intervention to respond to the massive hunger in poor communities because of the strict quarantine – occasional direct food support to families of health promoters and immigrants, support for five soup kitchens (primarily led by health promoters and some feeding 150-200 people a day), developing educational materials about food storage and preparation, sharing low-cost recipes and workshops on home and community gardens as a more long-term response to food sovereignty.
Thank you for your love and support. Blessings to all of you during this difficult time.
abrazos,
Karen, ELCA Global Mission Personnel in Chile