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[Mennonite Central Committee Communications]

TOPIC:  CARDS BY CARD, WOMEN IN INDONESIAN SLUM WORK TOWARD BETTER
FUTURE
DATE:   October 11, 1996
CONTACT:  Pearls Sensenig
V: 717/859-1151 F: 717/859-2171
E-MAIL ADDRESS:  mailbox@mcc.org

JAKARTA, Indonesia -- Ibu Neneng, a toddler snuggled at her side,
perches on the bed above knee-deep floodwater that has engulfed her
one-room shack.  An older child, breathing shallowly and fighting
fever, lies on the other bed.

Hunched over the bedside table, Ibu Neneng carefully glues a pre-cut
paper design proclaiming "peace" to a square of batik fabric.  When
she completes the card, she climbs down from the bed, side steps
along a board walkway and adds another Christmas card to the plastic-
wrapped package stashed under a dry ceiling beam.

Card by card Ibu Neneng is working toward a better future for her
family.  Through Maranatha Cards she and 24 other poor women here
earn income by making 150,000 cards a year, 60,000 of them
Christmas cards.  Ten Thousand Villages, a Mennonite Central
Committee job creation program, is the biggest buyer of Maranatha
Cards.  (Ten Thousand Villages is the new name for SELFHELP
Crafts of the World.)

Connie Pelmelay, Maranatha Cards' manager, can list lots of
successes:  With the income Ibu Dewi earned, she repaired her leaky
roof and took her sick children to the doctor; Ibu Atun saved money to
start a small business selling vegetables.

But Pelmelay's ultimate goal is to help each woman move her family
from the slums to better housing.  This, she says, is their most basic
need.  In Ibu Neneng's neighborhood, children splash through the
floodwater, dodging floating garbage.  Every year this low-lying area
is flooded during the rainy season, creating unhealthy conditions that
cause frequent illness.  One young boy, the son of another cardmaker,
recently died of dengue fever.  As well, some women live illegally as
squatters and face eviction at a moment's notice.

Maranatha Cards was started in 1986 by foreign women in Jakarta who
were moved by the poverty they saw.  Several years ago Pelmelay, an
Indonesian, was appointed manager.  She has instituted new policies,
such as asking women to pay for their own raw materials to teach
about capital and profit-making.  Although these "tough love"
measures have not always made Pelmelay popular, the results are
beginning to show.  Some women have used what they have learned to
develop their own businesses, such as buying produce at the wholesale
market to sell at neighborhood kiosks.  Some have saved enough
money to buy their own houses, outside of the swampy areas where
Ibu Neneng and other poor people are often forced to live. 

But Maranatha Cards also has less visible goals, with fewer tangible
successes.  Indonesia's capital is a city of contrasts.  Some residents
live in walled mansions and shop for designer clothing in glistening
metal and glass malls while others, like Ibu Neneng, worry about how
they will buy food for their next meal.  Maranatha Cards has provided
one of the few places where affluent and
                                                      
                                    impoverished women
can meet.  The Maranatha workshop has been used for meetings where
women of all walks of life can share concerns and become acquainted
with one another.

Recently wealthy women and poor cardmakers traveled together to
visit artists who make the batik fabrics used to decorate the cards.  At
one meeting, there were not enough chairs for everyone.  The group
automatically divided -- poor women squatted on the floor while
wealthy women settled into the chairs.  When one wealthy women
temporarily left her chair, a poor woman sat in it.  When the wealthy
woman returned, she asked the poor woman to move.

"I prayed about this and then decided to talk with her," relates
Pelmelay.  The woman said she had assumed her right to the chair and
had "never thought about" the fact that the poor woman should also
have access to a chair.  Later this woman told Pelmelay she had come
to realize new meaning in the Bible verse:  "Just as you did it to one
of the least of these ... you did it to me" (Matt. 25:40).

Pelmelay hopes Maranatha Cards can not only continue to help
transform individual women's lives, but also be a small step toward
transforming the society in which they live.

                         -30-

Pearl Sensenig, MCC Communications
11october1996

MCC photo available:  Pictured are Ibu Neneng (left) and Ibu Ani
(holding card) with their children on Ibu Ani's porch.  In their one-
room homes, the women glue pre-cut paper designs to batik fabric,
fashioning cards to sell through Ten Thousand Villages.  (Ten
Thousand Villages is the new name for SELFHELP Crafts of the
World.)  During the rainy season, the women's houses stand in knee-
high floodwater.  The women hope to move to better housing as they
earn and save income from cardmaking.  (MCC photo by Pearl
Sensenig)
TOPIC:  MCC NEWS PHOTO:  SEND CHEERY GREETINGS TO FRIENDS, PUT SMILES ON
REFUGEES' FACES
DATE:   October 11, 1996
CONTACT:  Emily Will
V: 717/859-1151 F: 717/859-2171
E-MAIL ADDRESS:  mailbox@mcc.org

EPHRATA, Pa. -- Elizabeta Stajic looks over greeting cards made by
refugees of her home country, Bosnia.  The cards are available in
stores throughout North America that sell Ten Thousand Villages
products.

Ten Thousand Villages, the new name of SELFHELP Crafts of the
World, is now carrying greeting cards handmade by four Bosnian
women, refugees in Belgrade, Serbia.  One of the producers
transformed a pre-war hobby of collecting wildflowers into a way to
earn much-needed income.  Another began experimenting with water
colors during two apartment-bound years in besieged Sarajevo.

Ten Thousand Villages, working with Mennonite Central Committee
(MCC) workers in the former Yugoslavia, has recently purchased all-
occasion greeting cards from the four producers, who are highly
educated professionals -- three worked as teachers and one as an
architect.  Now, as refugees, they are unable to obtain work permits in
Serbia.

The sale of these brightly colored floral-design cards will bring much-
needed income to Desa Lucic, Vesna Prodanovic, Marija Stojadinov
and Dragica Terzic and their families.  

Stajic -- herself a refugee from Sarajevo who spent two years in
Vienna, Austria, before relocating to Pennsylvania -- can testify to the
vital importance of being able to earn income for both refugees'
physical and mental well-being.  Stajic now works with MCC U.S.
Constituency Ministries.

Make a difference in the lives of Desa, Vesna, Marija and Dragica. 
Look for their handiwork-in-an-envelope at any of the more than 60
Ten Thousand Villages shops that carry the greeting cards.  Ten
Thousand Villages is a non-profit marketing program of MCC that
provides fair income to artisans in many countries. (MCC photo by
Tony Siemens)

                         -30-

esw11october1996TOPIC:  PRAYING, PREPARING FOR DEATH:  TWO WAYS BURUNDIAN WOMEN COPE
WITH TRAUMA OF LIFE IN A WAR ZONE
DATE:   October 11, 1996
CONTACT:  Pearl Sensenig
V: 717/859-1151 F: 717/859-2171
E-MAIL ADDRESS:  mailbox@mcc.org

Editor's note:  Lauren and Suzy Yoder, MCC Burundi country
representatives, spent several months working outside Burundi in
Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda.  They were outside of the country
for lanuage study and could not return as scheduled due to
sanctions placed on Burundi following a July coup.  Lauren
returned to Burundi earlier this month; Suzy was scheduled to
return on October 10.  This article describes workshops that took
place last spring to be continued this fall.
      NAIROBI, Kenya --  Thousands of Burundian women have
been forced from their homes over the past three years.  During recent
trauma healing workshops in Bujumbura, Burundi's capital, I came to
realize the tragic complexity of these women's experiences.

A church team from Minnesota conducted the first week-long trauma
healing workshop.  At the women's request, Mennonite Central
Committee (MCC) followed up with more sessions during the
following weeks. 

Each of the 20 women had her own tragic tale. (Names have been
changed.)  Marie saw her aunt and baby niece burned alive. 
Madeleine's husband was shot while fleeing a military attack. 
Clementine heard her neighbors being killed.  Liliane told of three
family members violently killed in separate incidents during the past
year.  Alphonsine saw a brother-in-law and neighbors killed.

Kariniya's friend, who was not a believer was killed in April.  He had
asked to see Kariniya about "something important" just a few days
before he was shot; she hadn't been able to meet him because of a sick
child.  Now she is tortured by what he may have wanted. 

Beatrice, a pastor, recounted how her eldest son was killed in Burundi
while she was in Rwanda.  Modeste said her father and nine brothers
were killed and her house burned to the ground.  Weeks later Modeste
made her way back to the area and found her mother struggling to
keep herself and a little grandchild alive.  Modeste was shaken by the
thought that she had nearly decided not to return.
     Four primary symptoms of trauma are flashbacks, nightmares,
numbness and fear, and the women recognize these symptoms in
themselves, their children and in those around them.  I marvel at these
women's strength in the face of limited material resources for handling
life itself, let alone the emotional trauma they are trying to live with.

The women expressed joy in meeting and hearing one another's
stories.  They want to meet again for added support.  MCC plans to
sponsor at least four more sessions.  Sponsorship entails renting a
suitable space, and providing transportation and food for the day.  I
will provide materials on trauma, conflict resolution, Christian
encouragement and group facilitation.  Burundian women pastors or
leaders will choose participants and provide coordination.

At one meeting, I asked the women to share what sustains them in this
crisis; what diminishes their fear.  This is what they said:

 Praying.  They pray often with heartfelt emotion. They cry to God,
asking for peace for their land.  They pray for protection for
themselves, and for family and friends. They believe only God can
solve their problems and they are waiting patiently for God's
intervention or for the second coming.  Because they are in crisis, their
prayers are egocentric; I have never heard them pray for others. 
However, one women recently expressed shame about this when she
went to South Africa and heard people there pray for Burundi.  She
became aware people all over the world were praying for her country.

  Preparing for death.  One woman said, "I can face the day if I feel
ready to face God."  One expressed that she is closer to God now than
before the troubles.  She wondered if it would be better to die now
than when life gets sane again and people go about their lives,
forgetting God once more.  Many women seem resigned to imminent
death.

 Working together.  Often it is too dangerous to walk to the fields. 
But when the military is no longer around and no rebels have
appeared, the women try to hoe, plant or harvest.  They are often too
scared to work alone and prefer to go with friends.  They are willing
to continue working, despite the danger, because they want to survive
and courageously hope that tomorrow peace will come.

 Reading Scripture.  The women feel comforted when they read about
the last days in Matthew 24, and passages about Israel in the Old
Testament, such as Jeremiah 6, Isaiah 24 and 34, etc., that describe
what they are seeing.  For them, it means God knows all about their
situation and even put it in the Bible so they would be able to
understand what is happening.

The women feel especially reassured by Scripture on vengeance.  Their
hearts are filled with vengeance, but they give these feelings to God,
refusing to avenge themselves, believing God will take care of it. 
Many take seriously the passages about loving enemies.  One woman
offers God the glory for giving her grace to forgive the unknown
killers who slaughtered her entire family.  She smiles and never
expresses angry words about what happened.  She didn't try
therapeutic steps to achieve her state of mind -- she claims it was
simply given to her.  How would North American therapists figure out
these experiences?

  Singing and dancing.  These activities help them forget momentarily
and calm their stress, putting joy into their weary days and giving
them hope for a better tomorrow.

  Telling their stories.  They recount their stories repeatedly while
others listen, empathize and share their tears. They feel less alone and
understand they aren't singled out in their suffering. They realize
everyone -- Hutus and Tutsis -- has been traumatized by massacres,
ambushes and burnings.  If not directly, they experience secondary
trauma by caring for the people who have been victims and they all
live with the fear about what might happen next.
                         -30-
Suzy Yoder, MCC Burundi
pls11october1996
Suzy Yoder of Davidson, N.C., attended Davidson Friends Meeting
and worshipped with Oakhill Mennonite Church in Winston-Salem,
N.C.

MCC photo available:  Burundian women work together to plant
beans.  They are often too frightened to work alone and prefer to go to
the fields with friends.  They are willing to continue working, despite
the danger, because they want to survive and courageously hope that
tomorrow peace will come.  (MCC photo by Dave Klassen)
TOPIC:  Sidebar:  HOW DOES A TRAUMA HEALER FIND HEALING?
DATE:   October 11, 1996
CONTACT:  Pearl Sensenig
V: 717/859-1151 F: 717/859-2171
E-MAIL ADDRESS:  mailbox@mcc.org

NAIROBI, Kenya -- It is tiring, hurtful and overwhelming to be around so much suffering, hate, threa
much of the time.  When I get weary and begin to wonder where God is in Burundi, this wounded place,
touch a leaf, contemplate an elaborately beautiful flower, see the beautiful sunset over the mountai
view overlooking Lake Tanganyika.

I need to remember as I notice the bright sun that it is so vast it could hold a million earths.  It
human being saying kind words to another, to see widows and families caring for children who have be
from their parents, to listen to people trying to figure out what they can do to bring peace to thei
know that Christians back home have responded to this tragic place by giving of their resources for 
activity, for food dispersed through churches and for personnel to offer some measure of comfort and
to these desperate people.

When I remember this evidence of God's presence in the world and think of other believers praying fo
about people so far away, my tears well up as I acknowledge, "I believe" despite God's "silence" and

                         -30-

Suzy Yoder, MCC Burundi 
pls11october1996 
Suzy Yoder of Davidson, N.C., attended Davidson Friends Meeting and worshipped with Oakhill Mennonit
Winston-Salem, N.C.


TOPIC:  FIGHTING IN EASTERN ZAIRE CREATES NEW
REFUGEE CRISIS
DATE:   October 25, 1996
CONTACT:  Pearl Sensenig
V: 717/859-1151 F: 717/859-2171
E-MAIL ADDRESS:  mailbox@mcc.org

200,000 people reportedly heading toward Bukavu, Zaire

AKRON, Pa. -- Some 200,000 Burundian and Rwandan refugees and
Zairian villagers are reportedly on the move toward Bukavu, Zaire. 
They are fleeing fighting around Uvira, Zaire, and other locations
south of Bukavu.

Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) workers Krista Rigalo and
Fidele Lumeya report from Bukavu that the town is "in a panic." 
Bukavu still hosts some 300,000 Rwandan refugees from the 1994
exodus and the relief food on which they rely is said to be low as the
fighting has cut off supply routes.  The town is also rife with rumors
that it may be attacked.  At this point Rigalo and Lumeya, the only
two MCC workers in Bukavu, do not plan to leave the area. 

"There is so much human misery there," says Terry Sawatsky who
directs MCC's Africa programs.  He and other MCC staff are
exploring ways to get blankets and clothing to the newly arriving
refugees.  This is difficult as crucial roads leading to Bukavu have
been cut off.

Refugees who have reached Bukavu are being directed to a camp 85
kilometers/53 miles west of town.  They must make this additional
journey by foot.  The camp is on the same road as the four Rwandan
refugee camps MCC has supported and where Rigalo and Lumeya
continue reforestation and peace work. These four camps will likely be
asked to house additional refugees. 

The causes and even the parties involved in the current fighting in
eastern Zaire are difficult to ascertain.  Some say both the Rwandan
and Burundian armies are involved.  Some say the Rwandan army has
armed the Banyamulenge, who are Zairian Tutsis.  Some say the
ongoing struggle between Zairian President Mobutu and Prime
Minister Kengo has played a role.  Some say Zaire-based Hutu
extremists responsible for the 1994 Rwandan genocide are deeply
involved.

"The current fighting in Zaire only confirms that this is a regional
conflict.  The complexity of the situation indicates again that we have
to think regionally as we determine how to respond," says Sawatsky. 

MCC recently committed more than $4.5 million Cdn./$3.3 million
U.S. of its food equity in the Canadian Foodgrains Bank (CFGB)
toward a lentil and oil shipment to go to eastern Zaire.  MCC's total
may in the end be less than this as the agency is still inviting other
CFGB partners to help out.  If others contribute portions of their
equity, MCC's reserves will not be drawn down as much and it will be
better prepared to respond to future emergencies.  Earlier this year,
MCC participated in another CFGB shipment of a similar size to
eastern Zaire.  

                         -30-

pls25october1996

MCC photo available:  War has once again forced people from their
homes in the Great Lakes region of Africa.  Often families are
separated in their haste to escape fighting.  This 1994 photo was taken
minutes after a Rwandan woman was reunited with her son in an
orphanage in Bukavu, Zaire.  The woman lost her son during their
desperate flight from Rwanda's civil war and for about four months
she had no idea whether he was alive or dead.  (MCC photo by Dave
Klassen)  TOPIC:  MCC SHIPMENT TO SUPPORT CHILDREN WITH DEVELOPMENTAL
DISABILITIES IN MAKEYEVKA, UKRAINE
DATE:   October 25, 1996
CONTACT:  Emily Will
V: 717/859-1151 F: 717/859-2171
E-MAIL ADDRESS:  mailbox@mcc.org

AKRON, Pa. -- Mennonite Central Committee's (MCC) third largest
material resource shipment of 1996, dollarwise, is on its way to
children's homes in Makeyevka, a city in southeast Ukraine.  (MCC's
largest shipment this year went to Bangladesh and its second largest to
Russia.)

The shipment contains a bit of "everything but the kitchen sink" --
canned beef, milk powder, shoes, school kits, comforters, winter
clothing, woodworking tools, laundry soap, health kits, sewing kits,
fabric, garden seeds and medical supplies. 

MCC partner Light of Resurrection will receive the food and supplies,
valued at $182,200 Cdn./$133,000 U.S.  Light of Resurrection is a
Baptist mission that produces radio and TV programs, offers
correspondence Bible courses and engages in other outreach.  It is
currently establishing a children's shelter.

MCC plans to place a worker with this children's shelter next year,
says MCC Europe director Hansulrich Gerber.

In addition to using some of the provisions in this new shelter, Light
of Resurrection will distribute supplies to two government-run
children's homes.

One of these homes cares for 150 elementary-age children with
developmental disabilities.  For the past five years, it has received no
economic or technical assistance from the government, says MCC
worker Ruth Ann Stauffer.  Stauffer is from New York City, where
she is a member of North Bronx Mennonite Church.

The school provides basic vocational training -- in such areas as
carpentry, sewing and metalwork -- and holds small fairs to sell items
the children have made.  Their current largest challenge is finding raw
materials with which to work, says Stauffer.  Thus the shipment's
inclusion of sewing supplies, fabric and woodworking tools. 

"This is part of our attempt to help people help themselves, rather than
just handing out things," Stauffer says.

The second government home cares for some 200 high-school age
youth with developmental disabilities.  This home runs a small shoe-
repair shop and requested leather glue.  MCC was not able to send that
item, because under U.S. law it is "potentially explosive." 
      "However this school also asked for carpentry and sewing
supplies, which we are able to provide," Stauffer says.

The shipment is expected to arrive in Port Mariupol on November 18. 
A trucking firm will then deliver the container to Makeyevka.
                         -30-
esw25october1996TOPIC:  FIRST BALKAN EVANGELICAL CONFERENCE AN IMPORTANT SUCCESS
DATE:   October 25, 1996
CONTACT:  Emily Will
V: 717/859-1151 F: 717/859-2171
E-MAIL ADDRESS:  mailbox@mcc.org

AKRON, Pa. -- The First Balkan Evangelical Conference was an
important success, reports Mennonite Central Committee (MCC)
worker Harold Otto from Belgrade, Serbia. 

More than 1,500 delegates attended the two-day conference in
September, held in a large theater in Belgrade's center.  They came
from Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Hungary, Macedonia, Romania and
Serbia.

Sponsored by the Serbian Evangelical Conference, the conference's
theme was "Hope for the Balkans."  Its purposes included giving voice
to the region's evangelical churches, promoting their unity and
affirming that peace and forgiveness for the region's peoples can be
found only in Jesus Christ.

"Participating in such a large gathering organized by Balkan
evangelicals was encouraging for delegates, who endured repression
and isolation for the past 50 years," Otto reports. "Since communism's
fall, the Balkans have witnessed an explosion of missionary activities
directed by Western agencies.  This conference was the largest event
initiated and organized by Balkan evangelicals themselves." 

"Belgrade's largest and government-controlled newspaper, Politika, had
been writing a series of very critical articles about `sects,' or non-
Orthodox Christian groups.  Surprisingly, they wrote an objective
article about the conference and reprinted MCC's `A modest proposal
for peace' poster," Otto says.  Otto, from Arcola, Ill., is affiliated with
Sunnyside Conservative Mennonite Church of Arthur, Ill.

The popular poster has been translated into Croatian and Serbian, with
help from MCC workers in the region.  (The languages are basically
the same but Croatian uses Latin script and Serbian, Cyrillic script.)

Each conference delegate received a postcard version of the poster. 
The original poster -- developed in mid-1984 by former MCC
administrator John K. Stoner -- reads, "A modest proposal for peace. 
Let the Christians of the world agree not to kill one another." 

At the suggestion of Croatian and Serbian evangelicals, the translation
omitted the final two words.  They did not want people to interpret the
poster as allowing Christians to justify the killing of non-Christians.

The conference's closing declaration called on evangelical Christians
throughout the Balkans to work together in love to preserve and/or
establish peace.

                         -30-
esw25october1996TOPIC:  WALK SOFTLY AND LIVE SIMPLY:  25 YEARS OF MENNONITE WORK IN
SWAZILAND
DATE:   October 25, 1996
CONTACT:  Pearl Sensenig
V: 717/859-1151 F: 717/859-2171
E-MAIL ADDRESS:  mailbox@mcc.org

 
A joint release of Mennonite Central Committee and Eastern
Mennonite Missions

MBABANE, Swaziland -- "When you think of Americans, you think
of posh cars.  I have learned that material possessions aren't all there
is to life  -- that you can live with less and be happy.  I applaud them
[Mennonites] for [showing me] that," said Nomsa Moyo recently at a
gathering to commemorate 25 years of Mennonite work in this small
southern African nation. "I curse them [Mennonites] for their short
stays," she quipped.  

Two Mennonite organizations --  Mennonite Central Committee
(MCC) and Eastern Mennonite Missions (EMM) -- work together in
Swaziland.  Involvements have included teaching at all levels, pre-
school to university, community development, health care, including
AIDS education, biblical instruction and helping to strengthen local
church institutions.  Mennonites have encouraged their volunteers, who
typically serve three years, to live simply and focus on relationships
rather than on possessions.   

"From the Mennonites we've learned a lot about serving others that we
couldn't have learned out of a book," said Elijah Simelane.  "We saw
people who really lived their faith."

Such was the affirmation provided by many partners on September 28. 
"When we look back at what we have done in the last 25 years, what's
important is how we have done it and the relationships we have built,"
said Jon Rudy, MCC/EMM co-representative for Swaziland.  "That is
evident today by having such a diverse group of people, from many
sections of society, gather with us to celebrate the past as well as
advise us for the future."

MCC/EMM have not started churches in Swaziland or in other
southern African countries, but have worked with existing
denominations, agencies and governments.

"We brought people together today," said Mike Clymer, MCC
Swaziland teacher. "That in itself demonstrates the success of our
program here."  The diverse group of 21 Swazis, which included
representatives from Swaziland's three major church groups, discussed
challenges facing Swazi society and churches, such as divisions
between Christians, urban and rural people and those with opposing
political views.  They also socialized with one another.  Many
participants wouldn't normally have had opportunity to meet if it
weren't for their connection to Mennonites.

MCC/EMM regularly consults with partners for direction on program. 
This year's consultation included a celebration time to commemorate a
quarter century of work in Swaziland.  A beautiful cake was prepared
for tea time and a special invocation was given by Gladys Dlamini,
long-time friend of Mennonites.  MCC workers gave presentations
explaining who Mennonites are, what MCC is and Mennonite history
in Swaziland.  Although the partners knew of various 
Mennonites and programs, many weren't as familiar with Anabaptist
history and theology.  
                         -30-
Carolyn and Jon Rudy, MCC Swaziland
pls25october1996TOPIC:  NEW ORLEANS COMMUNITY RECEIVES $25 MILLION GRANT
DATE:   October 25, 1996
CONTACT:  Deborah Fast
V: 717/859-1151 F: 717/859-2171
E-MAIL ADDRESS:  mailbox@mcc.org

NEW ORLEANS--"It's a heaven of a victory," said St. Thomas
community leader Barbara Major at a press conference announcing a
$25 million U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
(HUD) grant to revitalize the public housing development here.

Major is president of the St. Thomas/Irish Channel Consortium
(STICC), a body made up of social service agencies and other groups
that approves all new projects and directives affecting the community. 
STICC and The St. Thomas Resident Council (STRC) have spent years
working to address the problems of their community and to improve
the living situation of its several thousand residents.  Since 1985 the
community has invited Mennonite Central Committee (MCC)
volunteers to work in education, social services, health care and
mediation.

"The new St. Thomas won't have people piled on top of each other in
rundown apartments," Major said.  "I hope it's a place where children
can be in yards with flowers. St. Thomas residents have been working
toward this for years," she said.

The $25 million will provide a large part of the financial resources
necessary to tear down housing that cannot be renovated, renovate
existing housing and construct 575 new, mixed-income rental homes
and 190 homes for sale.  Density of apartments on the 49-acre site will
be reduced from 31 to 15.5 per acre.  Plans also include a new
community center to be built at the center of the development.

Michael Kelly, executive director of the Housing Authority of New
Orleans (HANO), said the scaled-down, mixed income community that
he called the "New St. Thomas" could become a reality in three years. 
Ideally the stigma of living in public housing will be reduced as the
neighborhood becomes seen as a desirable place to live.  In addition,
HANO will offer a comprehensive self-sufficiency program including
job and vocational training, basic and post-secondary education, GED
assistance, job placement, health and child care, computer skills
training and treatment for substance abuse.  STRC and STICC will
manage the program.

Elizabeth Julian, HUD Assistant Secretary, praised residents and their
allies for developing an excellent plan which will provide the resources
for people to become self-sufficient.  Julian confessed that years of
neglect on the part of HUD had made public housing residents more
marginalized and stigmatized.

Sally Jacober, MCC Program Coordinator in New Orleans, commented
on the grant's potential to revitalize the community.  "As MCC
workers both in North America and in other countries we can become
discouraged by what seems like slow, tiring work. The St. Thomas
community has been organizing for change for 25 years; they can
serve as a powerful example of what it means 'to not grow weary and
lose heart.' Their faithful efforts and trust in God's care are now
showing tangible results," she said.

Demetria Farve, Resident Council president speaking at the press
conference announcing the award, reminded residents that their
involvement was important.  "I've only been in leadership training for
the past five years," she said.  "Someone looked at me and saw my
potential. There are lots of Demetrias out there, with different names
and different faces" (see sidebar).

"A lot of people have been thanked today, but we have to remember to
thank God," said District councilman, Oliver Thomas at the press
conference.  "Without God none of this would have been possible. 
God's people live in the Garden District [a wealthy neighborhood
surrounding St. Thomas] and God's people also live in St. Thomas.
Everybody deserves the same opportunities," he said.
                         -30-
Deborah Fast, MCC Communications
25october1996TOPIC:  SIDEBAR: A NEW GENERATION OF LEADERS
DATE:   October 25, 1996
CONTACT:  Deborah Fast
V: 717/859-1151 F: 717/859-2171
E-MAIL ADDRESS:  mailbox@mcc.org

NEW ORLEANS--Demetria Farve is serious when she says that St.
Thomas "is full of other Demetrias with other names and other faces." 
And along with the other members of the St. Thomas Residents
Council she is serious about her responsibility to help bring up a new
young generation of leaders in the community.  Demetria is also clear
about the challenges facing St. Thomas residents working for change:
"A lot of the struggle of the past 25 years has been learning how to
undo racism and the effects of oppression," she points out.

At only 26 years of age, Demetria is the Residents Council president. 
A typical day for her includes leading and attending community
meetings and helping to resolve conflicts.  Earlier this year she
completed her GED, and now in addition to her volunteer work she
has her first paid position as a community organizer.  She also has a
busy home life as the mother of four young girls.

Meetings in St. Thomas typically end with a "Unity Circle"--a time of
prayer.  And so it was not a surprise that Demetria thanked Jesus when
she was called to the podium to speak, and that the press conference
ended with a circle of clasped hands while Barbara Jackson and Fannie
McKnight, also members of the Council, closed in prayer.

                         -30-

dlf25october1996
MCC photo available: Demetria Farve speaks to the press conference
announcing the $25 million grant awarded to the St. Thomas
community.  MCC photo by Sally Jacober.TOPIC:  NEWS PHOTO: MCC CANNERS "JUMP INTO" 1996 SEASON
DATE:   October 25, 1996
CONTACT:  Deborah Fast
V: 717/859-1151 F: 717/859-2171
E-MAIL ADDRESS:  mailbox@mcc.org

AKRON, Pa.--Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) workers (from
left) Mark Gingerich, Anthony Beery and Rudi Niessen demonstrate
the operation of the MCC canner at an October 17 commissioning
service here.  The canner and crew will travel to approximately 30
locations in 11 states over the next six months.  With the help of local
volunteers, and using donated meat, the unit will likely process more
than 230 tons of meat, some of which is destined for refugees in war-
torn Bosnia.

Mennonites developed the idea of a portable canner during World War
II, as a way to help people hungry because of the war.  Eventually a
business in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley built a portable canner for
use by local Mennonites; later Mennonites in Hesston, Kan., built
another canner.  The current canner was constructed in 1993, and is
the only portable meat-canning unit in the United States.

During 50 years of operation, the succession of three MCC canners-on-
wheels have processed nearly 8.7 million cans of beef, the equivalent
of some 6.7 million kilograms/15 million pounds.

In the past year, this meat has gone to feed orphans, refugees, people
with mental illnesses and others in the former Yugoslavia, Haiti, Cuba,
Iraq and North Korea, among other locations. (MCC photo by Tony
Siemens)

                         -30-

dlf25october1996

Mark Gingerich is from New Paris, Ind., and a member of North
Goshen (Ind.) Mennonite Church.  Anthony Beery, of Harrisonburg,
Va., is a member of Mount Pleasant Mennonite Church in
Harrisonburg.  Rudi Niessen of Asuncion, Paraguay, is a member of
the Mennoniten Gemeinde Concordia congregation in Asuncion.