Baptist Global Response

NASHVILLE (BP) -- Baptist Global Response has been accepted as an associate member of Sphere, a movement to uphold high standards in humanitarian work during disaster responses. With its inclusion in Sphere, BGR "joins other international organizations in affirming the need for knowing what to do in a time of crisis to meet the survival needs of people," said Pat Melancon, BGR director of disaster response and training.

TANJUNG LESUNG, Indonesia (BP) -- A tsunami that killed at least 430 people in Indonesia the weekend before Christmas is being met with an "outpouring" of God's love, Baptist Global Response (BGR) executive director Jeff Palmer says. The 10-foot tsunami in Indonesia's Sunda Strait -- between the islands of Java and Sumatra -- was triggered Dec. 22 by an eruption of the Anak Krakatau volcano and an ensuing landslide. In addition to the deaths, nearly 150 people remain missing and more than 1,400 were injured, according to media reports. Tens of thousands have been displaced.

NASHVILLE (BP) -- Clean water is the #GivingTuesday focus of Baptist Global Response for a second year. After its initial #GivingTuesday campaign for 500 water filters, BGR has raised its goal this year to 600 filters for families in Asia and Africa. Each filter, which resembles a clay pot, will provide a family of five with a year of clean water at a cost of $25 per filter.

CÚCUTA, Colombia (BP) -- When Nelson Martínez' father died this summer, Martínez inherited a piece of property half a day up the mountain from his hometown of Cúcuta, Colombia. The property sits at 10,000 feet at the top of a cold, often rainy mountain pass. Every day several hundred ill-prepared Venezuelans walk over it on their way to try to find food, work and medicine in a new land. Some have died of hypothermia. All are desperate. Martínez, who has been serving as a pastor in Houston, Texas, feels like he inherited the property at just the right time to aid the masses fleeing Venezuela's economic collapse.

In today's SBC Digest: J. Robert White has been named as president and CEO of the Georgia Baptist Health Care Ministry Foundation; Baptist Global Response suggests five ways to use 2018 gift catalog.

PALU, Indonesia (BP) -- Baptist Global Response is assessing needs on Indonesia's Sulawesi island after a magnitude 7.5 earthquake and tsunami Sept. 28 killed at least 1,200 people, with the death toll expected to rise. More than 1.5 million people have been affected, according to initial reports. Volunteers prepared a mass grave for 1,300 in the hills above hard-hit Palu, Indonesia, the BBC reported, and decomposition forced at least one local hospital to begin burying bodies before relatives could pick up remains of their loved ones. The main airport in Palu was damaged, landsides have blocked roads and power outages are widespread.

SOUTH SUDAN (BP) -- The light was soft as Monica* weeded her garden on a community farm in South Sudan. A picture from that day shows her sitting quietly among other garden plots, her legs folded demurely under her thin body. A long scarf is tied around her head for protection from the blazing African sun. Susan Hatfield remembers the moment well. It was the day Monica learned that her nephew had been killed in a fight that took place while he had been watching over his family's cows.

In today's SBC Digest: LifeWay Global & B&H Español named Spanish Publisher of the Year; Baptist Global Response launches 'GoatFundMe' campaign; longtime music evangelist Leon Westerhouse dies.

LOMBOK, Indonesia (BP) -- A team trained by Baptist Global Response (BGR) was already at work on Indonesia's Lombok island when a 6.9-magnitude earthquake with strong aftershocks hit Sunday (Aug. 5), killing nearly 100 people. The team from BGR's Singapore office had deployed to the resort island several days before after a 6.4-magnitude quake had rocked Lombok on July 29, killing 16. "The team had gone in to do that first assessment, and that assessment work ...

VENEZUELA (BP) -- Baptist Global Response (BGR) is organizing relief efforts to help starving families trapped in Venezuela's current economic crisis. The country's economic output is expected to shrink by 15 percent this year, which would be the third consecutive year it has decreased by double digits, Forbes.com reported. And inflation has reportedly grown from 112 percent in 2015 to 2,400 percent last year. In 2018, it's expected to hit five-digits.