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World Service
Department for World Service
A girl stands among the makeshift shelters of a camp for people left homeless by the January 12 earthquake in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. © ACT Alliance/Paul Jeffrey
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The Department for World Service (DWS) is the relief and development arm of the LWF. Rooted in Christian values of love, reconciliation and justice, DWS responds to human need throughout the world.
Drawing on a firm commitment to uphold the rights of the poor and oppressed, DWS works together with local and international partners to alleviate suffering, combat injustice and poverty, and lay the foundation for a life in dignity for all.
It serves all people irrespective of ethnicity, gender, religion, race or political conviction. (more…)
DWS Country, Regional and Associate Programs
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The Department for World Service (DWS) works in 35 countries through three regional programs, 19 country programs and eight associate programs and emergency operations, with up to 60 international staff and consultants and 5,000 national staff.
Featured Stories
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FEATURE: Dance Gives Courage and Strength to Haiti’s Children
Eight-year-old Rosedaline Revolis’ smile lights up the room as she plays the pandeiro (tambourine). She is learning to make music for capoeira, a martial-arts inspired dance native to Brazil that... -
First LWF Relief Convoy Arrives in Port-au-Prince, Haiti
The Lutheran World Federation Department for World Service plans to scale up operations and strengthen logistics capacity in both Haiti and the Dominican Republic following the arrival of the first... -
Haiti: Earthquake Wreaks Unimaginable Suffering and Devastation
“It looks like a war zone.” This was how Eric Celiz described the situation in the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince, following the 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck on 12 January.
LWF Provides Disaster Relief in Pakistan
World Service Workers to Support ACT Alliance Response
GENEVA, 18 August 2010 (LWI) – Two Lutheran World Federation (LWF) disaster relief specialists have been deployed to Pakistan to assist the ACT Alliance in providing emergency assistance to the victims of the flooding that has devastated the country in recent weeks.
Bed Bahadur Thapa and Netra Prasad Subedi, currently working with the LWF Department for World Service (DWS) program in Nepal, will arrive in Pakistan soon, said Dr Colette Bouka-Coula, DWS acting director. More…
FEATURE: Dance Gives Courage and Strength to Haiti’s Children
Global Church Network Assists Earthquake Victims
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti/GENEVA, 7 April 2010 (LWI) – Eight-year-old Rosedaline Revolis’ smile lights up the room as she plays the pandeiro (tambourine).
She is learning to make music for capoeira, a martial-arts inspired dance native to Brazil that is now helping Haitian children cope with the changes in their lives since the 12 January earthquake. More…
ACT Alliance Launched as New Global Humanitarian Organization
LWF Welcomes Merger of ACT International and ACT Development
GENEVA, 24 March 2010 (LWI) – The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) has welcomed the creation of the ACT Alliance, one of the world’s largest networks of church and church-related humanitarian relief and development organizations.
In a greeting pronounced at the launch of the ACT Alliance on Wednesday, 24 March, LWF Deputy General Secretary Rev. Chandran P. Martin assured ACT Alliance colleagues of the Lutheran communion’s support and solidarity. The LWF had been instrumental in the formation of the ACT Alliance, he emphasized, and, through its programs and partner organizations, offered the Alliance the largest possible network for its operations. More…
FEATURE: From a Disaster Graveyard to a Thriving Community
Indian Villagers Focus on New Hope, Five Years after the Tsunami
NAGAPATTINAM, Tamil Nadu, India/GENEVA, 22 February 2010 (LWI) – Mr Anjappan Kumar remembers the day five years ago, when the devastating tsunami that killed thousands in southern Asia and Africa hit his village.
“The 26 December tsunami claimed 86 lives in our village, destroyed nearly 500 houses and 200 boats. The village looked like a graveyard,” Kumar, 33, recalled, his voice breaking. More…
Haiti: Earthquake Survivors Urgently Need Rain-Proof Housing
LWF World Service Director Impressed by Global Relief Response
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti/GENEVA, 16 February 2010 (LWI) – One month after the devastating earthquake in Haiti, the first strong tropical rain surprised the survivors in their sheet-roofed shacks and caught them unprepared. Spontaneously a lot of people gathered in the center of the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince, demanding material for new accommodation, reported Bobby Waddell, the Haiti emergency senior advisor for the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Department for World Service (DWS). More…
