Baptist Global Response

Southern Baptist food relief is making its way into the Gaza Strip to help people suffering in the aftermath of a three-week Israeli military offensive earlier this year.

A total of $92,000 from the Southern Baptist World Hunger Fund will deliver food to about 10,000 people during the course of this next year, according to Abraham Shepherd, Baptist Global Response area director for Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. Since Southern Baptist field partners and volunteers are unable to enter the area, the project will be conducted in partnership with local believers in Gaza.

The food distribution is part of a larger cooperative effort involving five Christian groups. Those other ministry partners will provide food for the effort as well, but also will distribute clothing, window glass, household goods, blankets and other necessities that are in short supply.

“The Gaza Strip has been experiencing a humanitarian crisis for many years, prior to the war starting in December 2008,” said the project’s local director. “Last year, it was reported that the Gaza Strip had the highest unemployment rate in the world. More than a million people have been suffering due to drastic shortages of food, cooking fuel, medical supplies, and other essentials. The recent war has only increased the devastation and hardships for the people of Gaza.”

Details are still being worked out in regards to logistics, due to the nature of the local conflict there, said BGR’s executive director, Jeff Palmer. “However, it looks as if most food can be purchased locally and distributed quickly and efficiently to those in need.”

The project’s leaders hope the relief effort will not only demonstrate the love of Christ for the hurting Palestinian people but also provide a springboard for long-term improvements in the quality of life for Gaza residents. 

“We do not envision that Gaza will be a self-sustaining area for many years,” the local director said. “It is our hope this project will lead to the development of micro-enterprises and community projects that will lead the people of Gaza to be more self-supporting.”

With technical support from Shades Mountain Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala., an Internet site, Christian-relief-for-Gaza.org, has been set up to provide information about the relief effort. That site currently suggests several points at which Christians can pray for the crisis:

“Pray that the current cease fire holds. Even more importantly, pray for a just and lasting peace,” the site says. “Pray for healing for those who were injured. Ask God to make available the treatment they need. Pray for the many children whose parents were killed.  Ask God to provide for them.”

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Contributions to the Southern Baptist World Hunger Fund make projects like this possible. For information about the World Hunger Fund, please visit our Giving page.

Southern Baptist workers are monitoring the situation in the Gaza Strip and looking for opportunities to conduct relief efforts there now that Israel has agreed to open a corridor for humanitarian assistance.

On Jan. 7, Israel announced it would cease hostilities for three hours each day to allow relief supplies to flow through a humanitarian corridor into the Gaza Strip. The announcement followed 12 days of intense fighting, first from the air, then on the ground.

“The situation on both sides of the conflict is bad — especially for the people of Gaza,” said Abraham Shepherd, Baptist Global Response area director for Europe, Mid-East and North Africa. “We have been in constant contact with various networks and individuals in the region, trying to coordinate efforts and be on standby for long-term sustainable relief.”

Southern Baptists already have been involved in two humanitarian projects in Gaza through Baptist Global Response, and that should open the way for permission to participate in war-time relief, Shepherd said.

Shepherd asked Southern Baptists and other Christians to pray for people in the area who are suffering and for humanitarian efforts.

“Please pray for wisdom, as we meet and discuss coordination of efforts,” Shepherd said. “Please pray for readiness in assessing the various options when it comes to our point of entry and the relative security situation.”

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Contributions to the Southern Baptist World Hunger Fund make projects like this possible. For information about the World Hunger Fund, please visit our Giving page.