wfn.org | Teams to begin work in Central America

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

Jan. 12, 1999	Contact: Linda Bloom*(212) 870-3803*New York
10-21-32-71B{017}

By United Methodist News Service

Under the lead of the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries,
ecumenical work teams will be sent to Honduras and Nicaragua beginning in
March, to assist recovery efforts from Hurricane Mitch.

"Teams are going to be desperately needed for a long period of time," said
Nancy Osgood, manager of volunteer services for the United Methodist
Committee on Relief (UMCOR) Sager-Brown Center in Baldwin, La. 

At least two United Methodist teams will precede the others, working on
construction in the Central American countries during the last two weeks of
February, she added.

Teams are being scheduled as the result of a Jan. 4 meeting that included
representatives of the Commission for Christian Development (CCD) in
Honduras and the Council of Evangelical Churches (CEPAD) in Nicaragua,
according to Robert Walton, the board's assistant general secretary for
mission volunteers.

"Both of them came in with plans for the next two years in redevelopment and
rebuilding," he said.

In Nicaragua, CEPAD reported, the hurricane caused 5,751 deaths; destroyed
23,854 houses and caused the partial destruction of another 17,566 homes;
destroyed 340 schools in rural areas and devastated 86,000 acres of land.

With the help of a national coordinator and regional coordinators, CEPAD
hopes to welcome 220 work teams over the next two years, Walton said.
Besides reconstruction, reforestation also is a priority.

CCD, which was working with 100 communities in Honduras before the hurricane
last fall, now is assisting nearly three times that number, he reported. The
agency is seeking up to 100 work teams a year to help with road repair,
house repair and bridge-building. "In some places, entire villages have been
wiped out," he said.

The Honduran government has revised the official death toll from Mitch to
5,657. Besides the need to rehabilitate housing and infrastructure,
day-to-day living concerns remain. "Six months down the road, they
anticipate a food problem again because of the loss of so much agricultural
land," Walton said.

At Sager-Brown, Osgood will work with a representative of Church World
Service, the relief agency of the National Council of Churches, to
coordinate placement of both ecumenical and denominational teams. That
office will work with the CCD and CEPAD national coordinators and provide
training for the U.S. teams.

The training will focus on such issues as cultural sensitivity and
team-building. While fluency in Spanish is not required for participation,
Osgood said team members will be encouraged to learn a few phrases "to show
common respect."

Individuals and teams wishing to volunteer should call (800) 918-3100. Since
the hurricane, about 300 people already have called to add their names to
the volunteer list, according to Walton.

Volunteers will be responsible for travel expenses, but the cost of building
materials will be covered by the cooperating denominations. Volunteers are
needed for one- or two-week periods.

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United Methodist News Service
(615)742-5470
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