April 27, 2015

By Aaron Weaver

DECATUR, Ga. — The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship is partnering with a network of Baptist groups from around the world to provide aid to the victims of the recent earthquake in Nepal, which has killed more than 4,000 people, injured thousands more and left the impoverished South Asia country in a state of disarray.

CBF has contributed an initial $10,000 to the Baptist relief efforts and is encouraging Cooperative Baptists and friends to support the Fellowship’s response to the Nepal crisis. Gifts can be made to the CBF Nepal Response at www.cbf.net/nepal.

A boy stands in the rubble in the aftermath of the earthquake in Nepal. Image via BMS World Mission.

CBF has also deployed Eddy Ruble, one of CBF’s field personnel who serves in Southeast Asia and is a seasoned disaster response expert, to Kathmandu, the densely-populated capital of Nepal where at least 1,150 people died, to make initial assessments and plans for the Fellowship’s role in the relief efforts.

“Eddy will assist in the assessment and collaboration with the global Baptist network to help determine a way forward that matches our resources with the needs of the victims,” said David Harding, CBF’s international disaster response coordinator. “Initial needs will be for food, water and shelter, but this will transition quickly to the longer-term needs of the victims in the poorest communities that are served by local churches within our partnership.”

The 7.8-magnitude earthquake occurred April 25 while many churches were holding worship services (churches typically meet on Saturdays in Nepal) causing church buildings to collapse and leaving thousands homeless and most areas without power and water. The United Nations estimates that more than 6 million people have been affected and nearly one million children in Nepal urgently need humanitarian assistance.

Nepal, a nation of 27.9 million, has an economy dependent on tourism and is best known for Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world where at least 18 people were killed. U.N. officials emphasize that the death toll is likely to rise as the situation remains unclear in remote areas. They note that the hospitals in the Kathmandu Valley are overcrowded and running out of water and other emergency supplies as well as space to store corpses.

“The crisis in Nepal is heart-wrenching to watch on television,” said CBF Director of Field Ministries Jim Smith. “It’s staggering to see images of centuries-old temples reduced to rubble. Our hearts are moved as we see these images. Please join CBF and the larger Baptist family as we share our resources with the people of Nepal.”

Donations to support CBF’s Nepal Response efforts may be made online at www.cbf.net/nepal or by mailing a check payable to “CBF” with 17029-42050 in the memo line to:

Cooperative Baptist Fellowship
P.O. Box 102972
Atlanta, GA 30368-2972

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CBF is a Christian Network that helps people put their faith to practice through ministry eff­orts, global missions and a broad community of support.The Fellowship’s mission is to serve Christians and churches as they discover and fulfill their God-given mission.