World Relief
World Relief is a US-based service organization seeking to meet the needs of the global poor. They are headquartered in Baltimore, MD.
The Mission of World Relief, as originated within the National Association of Evangelicals, is to work with, for and from the Church to relieve human suffering, poverty and hunger worldwide in the name of Jesus Christ.
1940s
The World Relief ministry began in 1944 when leading American denominations realized they had a unique means of addressing the needs of war-torn Europe. Many had sister churches located in some of the hardest-hit regions of the continent. The National Association of Evangelicals established the War Relief Commission to send clothing and food to victims of World War II. After the war, evangelical leaders decided that the ministry of the War Relief Commission should continue because the human need was still great in post-war Europe.
1950s
From “War Relief” to “World Relief”
In 1950 a new name was chosen to reflect the evolving nature of our ministry and the ambitious nature of post-war evangelical churches. World Relief sought to provide aid in Jesus’ name to people in every part of the globe. We designed a variety of ministries, ranging from economic development (providing sewing machines and training so war widows could earn a living) to setting up TB clinics, from supporting orphanages to land reclamation projects.
1960s
A Decade of Turmoil
The 1960s brought the Cuban Missile Crisis, the assassinations of President Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr., and the start of the Vietnam War. It was a period of maturation for World Relief. We began to understand the limitations of only providing emergency relief in response to disasters – and realized the need to foster long-term development to prevent tragedies and to empower the poor.
In 1961, World Relief’s former chairman, C.N. Hostetter, Jr., served as a member of President Kennedy’s “Food for Peace” committee to help distribute more food to destitute regions of the world. By 1963, World Relief’s feeding stations were serving hot meals daily to more than 57,000 people in Korea. In 1968, food-for-work programs provided meals for 94,000 vulnerable people in Chile.
In 1969, United States Marines in Vietnam turned over the Hoa Khanh Children’s Hospital in Da Nang to World Relief. It became our biggest project in Vietnam, providing care for more than 125,000 patients before 1975 when World Relief was forced to evacuate.
1970s
Relief and Hope in the Darkest Hours
Bangladesh’s bloody war for independence produced more than one million casualties and 10 million refugees. World Relief provided emergency supplies to refugees in India and other neighboring countries. In 1972, Pastor Paul Munshi and World Relief established the Christian Service Society in Bangladesh – launching a ministry that continues to help thousands of impoverished families.
During famine years in Africa, World Relief provided food and other aid to the hungry in Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso), Niger, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Senegal, Ethiopia and Sudan.
In 1977, World Relief’s feeding centers were supplying 7,000 hot meals a day to malnourished children in Haiti.
In 1979, churches in the United States, mobilized by World Relief, helped resettle the Vietnamese “boat people” – launching World Relief’s church-centered refugee ministry that has since helped more than 200,000 victims of war and persecution start new lives in America.
1980s
Mercy Prevails
When political turmoil rocked the Philippines during the early 1980s World Relief strengthened church-centered relief efforts. By the decade’s end, more than 10,000 new churches had been established.
In 1984, the world witnessed the horror of famine in Africa. World Relief launched a three-year, $7 million relief program to feed 90,000 malnourished and starving Ethiopians through a church-based delivery system.
When a massive earthquake devastated San Salvador in 1986, World Relief spearheaded efforts to help families recover and rebuild. Together with local churches, we built more than 5,500 homes for families who had lost everything.
World Relief set up health and sanitation programs for Afghan refugees in Pakistan after the Soviet-led invasion of Afghanistan.
1990s
Tumultuous Changes
The 1990s heralded tumultuous change, and humanitarian crises became increasingly complex.
In Somalia, World Relief provided medical supplies, emergency food and clean water. In Liberia, we supported local churches as they ministered to victims of war. In Rwanda, our post-genocide response included reconciliation ministries, trauma counseling, and roofing for widows’ homes.
Amidst horrific ethnic strife in Europe’s Balkans, World Relief distributed medical supplies in Bosnia-Herzegovina, aided thousands of refugees, and launched a microfinance program that has helped promote reconciliation and healing as people trade together.
In the face of yet another famine in Africa – this time in southern Sudan – churches initiated an emergency response followed by development programs in Lietnhom and Pochalla.
2000 & Beyond
Opportunities Abound
After 9/11, World Relief supported the trauma counseling and relief ministries of churches in New York City. Funded by World Relief, trauma counseling continues today.
Churches were a lifeline as famine swept through southern Africa in 2002 and World Relief mobilized local Christians to distribute food.
Massive earthquakes in El Salvador (2001), India (2001) and Iran (2003) followed by the Asia tsunami (2004) led to an outpouring of aid from U.S. churches and individuals.
When Hurricane Katrina ravaged the U.S. Gulf Coast in 2005, local churches were on the front lines – delivering emergency supplies, comforting the grief-stricken and providing refuge. World Relief supported church teams in the rebuilding and rehabilitation of homes in the devastated Pass Christian area along the Mississippi coast.
The new century has seen a dramatic expansion of World Relief’s church-based HIV/AIDS ministries that today reach hundreds of thousands of people with care, support and AIDS education.
External links
[htpp://www.wr.org]