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Family Care Foundation Newsletter: Volume 3 -- No. 2 -- May 1999 For the past three years, Healing Colombia has been participating in community service programs in Bogota, Colombia. Staff members, all of whom are volunteers, provide personal counseling, work with the city’s street children, conduct prison visitation, and help soldiers who have been wounded while fighting anti-government guerillas. Since January, they have also provided earthquake relief services, as the following article explains. By Mario Torres and Sophia Dow, Project Directors (with excerpts of reports from staff members) On January 24, some of the Healing Colombia team members were preparing to travel to another city when suddenly the earth began to move. It continued for what seemed to be an eternity! The ground roared, the house shook and creaked, various things broke in the house, and roof tiles started shattering. We’ll never forget the experience.
We soon learned that the earthquake had killed hundreds of people in the neighboring city of Armenia. Thousands were missing and many more were homeless. It was clear that the survivors needed as much help as possible, so we loaded up our two vans and set off. Entering Armenia As we entered Armenia, we were shocked at the scene before us. Three-quarters of the city had been destroyed and 90% of its inhabitants were homeless. Over one thousand people had died and many more were injured, some of whom were still trapped under the rubble. An appalling stench hung over parts of the city. Twisted metal, smashed cars, and demolished buildings were everywhere. Sirens wailed. Survivors wandered through the ruins, dazed, confused and distraught.
We started looking for representatives of the Red Cross and other relief organizations in order to volunteer our services. Things were very chaotic. The hospital as well as the main police station had been severely damaged. The main fire station and all its equipment was destroyed. Most of the doctors and rescue workers we met were in near shock themselves. Volunteer relief workers were beginning to arrive from around the world, but they weren’t organized yet. Local survivors and individual volunteers from surrounding towns still bore the brunt of the rescue and relief operation. We eventually met a local Red Cross worker who needed a vehicle, so we offered him the use of ours. He introduced us to the Red Cross coordinator, who gratefully accepted our offer to help. Our first assignment was to fill our van with relief supplies and distribute them to the most needy areas of the city. We continued doing this until nightfall. At that point we were advised to leave the city as bands of thieves were descending on the town, robbing the poor earthquake survivors of what little they had left. In the days that followed we based out of the main distribution center near the airport. We were integrated into the administration of the supplies and given responsibilities that included deciding where and when truckloads of supplies should be sent for distribution.
We also had time to deliver supplies personally. We went from house to house and tent to tent, giving out food and water along with prayers and words of love, faith, and comfort. We also encouraged the relief workers, as well as the soldiers who had been deployed to keep order and protect us. Some people seemed to appreciate the prayers more than anything. Many people thanked us for taking time to show them love and personal concern. They said trucks would sometimes come to their neighborhoods and simply dump the food and other supplies and then leave. This lack of organized distribution meant that the weaker, slower survivors seldom got any of the supplies. At the time of this writing, some time has passed since the earthquake. The chaos has subsided. Each neighborhood has formed communal centers with communal dining rooms. About 70% of the population are living in "cambuches," huts with plastic sheets for roofs. Some of the communal centers have asked us to counsel and give spiritual orientation to the survivors to help them overcome the trauma that they have experienced. We have initiated group therapy sessions with workshops based on the Bible and other uplifting publications. These people need strength and faith to leave their despair behind and start over, rebuilding their lives.
USA NATIVE AMERICAN OUTREACH During the last two months we have distributed over two tons of food to needy families in Arizona, working in conjunction with a local food bank. The coordinator of a local community action group for youth of one of the largest cities on the Navajo Reservation has been taking us door-to-door to find needy families. THAILAND CHIANGMAI FAMILY SERVICES Besides supplying 5,000 school lunches to needy children, we sent two truckloads of humanitarian aid to a mountain village and provided hospitals and AIDS hospices with supplies to use for their patients We were also called on by the Royal Thai Army to help with the organization of a children’s day celebration, which was attended by thousands of children in Chiangmai, here in northern Thailand. JAPAN SIDE BY SIDE INTERNATIONAL We prepared 150 computers, three wheelchairs, office furniture, three ambulances, 500 T-shirts, and other supplies to send to Cambodia. We have 35,000 pairs of shoes prepared to send to the same location. Meanwhile we are continuing our bi-monthly ministry to the homeless in Tokyo, preparing and serving over 300 meals each visit.
Family Care Foundation’s Mission Support and Humanitarian Services Program (MSHSP) has seen tremendous growth over the last two years. In 1997 there were 20 projects in 9 countries. There are now over 130 projects in 35 countries operating under our umbrella, a few of which we have highlighted in our regular newsletters. As the number of our projects continues to grow and the scope of their operations broaden, we find that there is so much more being accomplished by these dedicated missionaries and volunteers than we could ever hope to communicate to you in a short newsletter! So, in addition to continuing in-depth articles on select projects in each issue, we will also include briefs, such as the above, from a number of other projects. Please allow us to thank you very much for your part in making these projects possible, and also to remind you that the Family Care Foundation web site (located at www.familycare.org) contains in-depth profiles on each of our projects. In Pakistan’s major port city of Karachi, a metropolis of twelve million people, the ten-member Love in Action team is making a difference. Founded in 1984, Love in Action currently administers a number of programs in and around Karachi, including their Eduserve and Deaf Reach programs which have been funded in part by a grant from the Chase Manhattan Foundation. By Richard Geary Horwitz, Project Director
Eduserve Pakistan is a rapidly developing nation that boasts the world’s sixth largest population. It is a country of great contrast. While new technology gives rise to improved communications systems and business growth, over 50% of the people live in poverty, with limited access to necessities such as potable water. The literacy rate is below 30% and educational facilities are sorely lacking in many regions. Education is undeniably one of the greatest needs facing the country. Average student-teacher ratio in public schools is frequently in excess of 40-1. Basic supplies, such as pencils, paper, blackboards, and chalk, are often lacking. Teachers are paid very poorly and are often hired more for their availability rather than for their expertise.
The mandate of our Eduserve program is to strengthen the educational infrastructure by training teachers, administrators, and parents. Amongst other things, we emphasize how important it is to teach children to read at an early age. This simple step goes a long way to raising the literacy rate and improving overall educational standards. To implement the Eduserve program, we regularly conduct a series of teacher training classes. The course addresses a wide range of topics, such as: Motivation, Classroom Control, Record Keeping and Charts, Communication Skills, Methodology, Communicating with Teenagers, and Writing Right. One of the most popular courses is an in-depth study of Early Learning Techniques. It is designed especially for mothers and preschool teachers, to assist them in teaching their children to read at an early age. This course has been quite successful, and has been implemented in many schools throughout Karachi. During a recent follow up seminar, a teacher told us, "I have been using your methods with my young students and they really work! The pupils are making wonderful progress. They are very happy, and so am I, as I know where I am going with their studies!"
Mrs. Mumtaz Rashdi, a well-known Pakistani educator and former member of the Board of Governors, recently commended us. She wrote: "I feel very privileged that Love In Action has chosen Pakistan to do their work… [We] have common goals and a common desire to reach out and help others in need. ‘READ’ is the first injunction in the Koran, and education is a very important part of Islam. Although the members of Love in Action are not many in number, they are doing a very, very valuable work!" Deaf Reach In Karachi there are over 150,000 people who are hearing-impaired. Only a few special schools exist to meet the needs of deaf children, and there are very few educational or vocational training programs available for students over the age of 16. This makes it very difficult for anyone who is deaf to obtain an education or find employment. For the past nine years, we have been conducting Deaf Reach, a specialized training program for deaf teenagers and young adults. Our goal is to provide them with teaching and training, as well as to assist them in finding employment so that they can support their families. The students are often quite poor and come from all parts of the city. Our Deaf Reach program has successfully trained hundreds of young deaf adults in English, communication skills, computer literacy, general knowledge, as well as vocational training. For many years we conducted the Deaf Reach program in temporary facilities. Recently this changed when a benefactor generously donated a substantial amount of office space in the downtown core of the city. This has enabled us to expand and open a full-fledged Deaf Training Center—an answer to our prayers! With the support of concerned businessmen, we have furnished the center with top quality computers, desks, air conditioners, VCRs and TVs, a reading library, and much more—everything necessary to provide training for the students. Unsolicited comments, such as those below, encourage us no end and strengthen our convictions that Deaf Reach is helping meet a very real need. Unsolicited comments, such as those below, encourage us no end and strengthen our convictions that Deaf Reach is helping meet a very real need.
"I applaud the Love in Action team for their dedication and investment of time and expertise in providing training for our teachers, and for helping to make our school a better place for the children," states Mr. Anwar Khan, who runs the Ujala center for mentally handicapped children in Karachi. We have been working at the Ujala center for five years, using an innovative music therapy program that has had wonderful results with the children there. Community Service Projects In addition to our Eduserve and Deaf Reach programs, our Love In Action team is actively involved in community service projects such as orphanage visitation and assisting in centers for handicapped children. Over the past six years we have been working closely with SOS Children’s Village Orphanage, one of the largest in Karachi, and have conducted numerous training seminars for their teaching staff. Recently our staff organized a four-day camp for 65 children, ranging in age from four to 16 years old. Our goal was to provide a unique event for the children that would enhance their lives, and reassure them that somebody does care. The children enjoyed games and sporting events, video presentations and group sing-a-longs. Drama and classical dance instruction, arts and crafts, and outside excursions were also included. It culminated with a special catered dinner on the last night—complete with clowns, balloons, and a professional puppet and magic show! It was a rewarding experience to see so many happy and challenged children. A little bit of love can make such a big difference in the lives of so many! On the last night of the camp one little boy exclaimed with a sparkle in his eyes, "Now I have a real joy in my heart!" These are the major programs that Love in Action staff members administer and assist with. The work is demanding, but also very rewarding. And we could not accomplish much without the generous support of our sponsors and benefactors. We thank you for helping make these projects possible, and we also thank Family Care Foundation for working in partnership with us. |
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