Despite last months deadly attack on the Red Cross headquarters in Baghdad
that resulted in 36 fatalities, the Iraqi food box distribution project will
continue – with Louisiana Baptists help.
Despite last months deadly attack on the Red Cross headquarters in Baghdad
that resulted in 36 fatalities, the Iraqi food box distribution project will
continue – with Louisiana Baptists help.
Seventy-pound boxes containing staple food items began arriving in Iraq Aug.
21. Louisiana Baptists contributed to the effort, though the exact number of
food boxes assembled is unknown.
Louisiana Baptists assembled and dropped off boxes at one of seven locations
statewide in May.
“I was so proud of how Louisiana Baptists responded and how they met the
needs of hungry Iraqis,” said Loy Seal, Louisiana Baptist Convention director
of mens and volunteer ministries. “They answered the call and I want
Louisiana Baptists to continue to be on mission.”
Seal said his office coordinated the project with directors of missions around
the state. Associational directors of missions then determined areas that served
as food box distribution points.
“We felt like it was a good opportunity for us to reach out to the people
of Iraq,” said Eddie Simmons, pastor at Sale Street Baptist Church in Lake
Charles. “We wanted to show the love of God through meeting their needs.”
Donny Lee agreed.
“This was a good thing that helped out the Iraqi people a lot,” said
Lee, missions/outreach minister at Brookwood Baptist Church in Shreveport. “I
hope the Iraqi people see that we really care about them and that it makes a
difference what we believe about Jesus.”
Volunteers planned to distribute the boxes to Iraqis in late August, but concerns
for the safety of humanitarian workers there caused a delay.
Baptist Press reported that loyalists of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein
intentionally targeted humanitarian workers for attacks in Iraq, causing the
delay in the arrival of Southern Baptist volunteer teams.
Instead, those workers relocated to nearby Jordan, where they participated
in a plethora of relief projects among 500,000 Iraqi refugees in the country.
Nineteen volunteers from Florida, Virginia, Texas, Georgia and North Carolina
delivered 50 boxes of food to Iraqis and other refugees living in Jordan. These
food boxes reflected the 46,000 Southern Baptist congregations assembled that
volunteers will deliver this week.
Each box contains enough food to feed a family of five Iraqis for one month.
Included are items such as beans, lentils, rice, flour and powdered milk.
While literature or any other type of evangelistic tract was prohibited by
Iraqi authorities, a label was placed on each box with John 1:17 written in
the Arabic language. The label also identified the box as “a gift with
love from the Southern Baptist churches in America.”
The United Nations Oil for Food program, which began in 1996 and ends this
month, allows Iraq to sell oil and use a portion of the proceeds to purchase
food and other humanitarian supplies for the countrys civilians.
Besides providing food boxes in Iraq, Seal said that Southern Baptists also
determined they can:
Provide water wells and water purification systems and rebuild
schools.
Distribute family health kits.
Present Iraqi families with Christmas gifts – either a video
explaining the Christmas story or a Bible.
Reach out to the Iraqi widows. Since more than 1.5 million Iraqi
men were killed as a result of three wars during the Hussein regime, Southern
Baptist leaders say they hope to be able to teach the widows how to read and
obtain employment.
“Southern Baptists may have the opportunity to rebuild schools using disaster
relief-trained volunteers,” Seal explained.
He added that if Louisiana Baptist disaster relief teams are called upon to
rebuild schools in the country, an individuals 14-day stay in the country
will cost $4500.