wfn.org | Church works to distribute goods from closing U.S. base in Panama

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

Sept. 13, 1999  News media contact: Tim Tanton*(615)742-5470*Nashville,
Tenn.     10-21-32-71B{460}

A UMNS Feature
By Joshua Lewis*

Fifty-nine refrigerators, 46 dryers, 91 desks, filing cabinets, lamps,
mufflers, sofas, trucks. 

It reads like a list of the biggest garage sale ever. Only the "garage" in
this case is the U.S. military base at the Canal Zone in Panama, and the old
stuff - more than 27,000 items worth an estimated $3 million -- is free. It
is being given to the United Methodist Church as the United States prepares
to transfer control of the Panama Canal to Panama Dec. 31.

Tom Griner, Volunteers In Mission (VIM) director for the Florida Annual
Conference, is coordinating the effort to distribute the goods. He learned
of the opportunity from an employee of the Department of Defense, who had
been impressed by the work of the United Methodist Committee on Relief
(UMCOR) in Bosnia. The man told Griner about the goods being distributed
from the military installation. 

"He said, 'Why don't you apply for it?'" Griner said.

After a call to Bob Walton at the United Methodist Board of Global
Ministries, who contacted UMCOR director Paul Dirdak, Griner had the
go-ahead. UMCOR provided an initial $10,000 grant, and a drive to raise
another $25,000 is under way, Griner said.

Most of the money is used for shipping the goods to countries around Latin
America and the Caribbean, including Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador,
Guatemala, Belize, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Brazil, Peru
and possibly others, Griner said. The project involves the Methodist
churches of Latin America, the Caribbean and their affiliates, in addition
to VIM, UMCOR and the Board of Global Ministries.

"It is connectionalism at its fullest, at the grass-roots level," Griner
said.

But getting the various goods to connect with their respective destinations
is another matter. 

Preparation and shipping are labor-intensive and logistically challenging,
Griner said.

First, two on-site volunteers must assess the goods to see if they meet
criteria for acceptance. 

"The stuff coming out of there is in excellent condition. We're not being
given junk," Griner said.

Next, the approved goods must be trucked to a separate warehouse, then
prepared for shipment to one of the receiving countries. The preparation
would include repainting the donated vehicles.

"Heavy vehicles will be very useful ... but I didn't think it was proper for
UMCOR to be sending olive-drab equipment all over the place, so they're all
going to be gone over very carefully and cleaned and painted out," Dirdak
said.

Griner said he also had to ensure the goods could clear customs out of
Panama. One factor he didn't consider, however, was how to get the goods
into Panama. He realized once he arrived in the country to lay the
groundwork for the program that the military base was considered U.S. soil.
He quickly arranged for the added step in the process.

An added challenge has been finding trucks to haul the goods to ports or
other destinations in Latin America. His team also had to determine whether
roads in countries such as Nicaragua and Honduras could accommodate the
tractor-trailers. 

The U.S. government has provided a lot of guidance. "The government is being
unbelievably helpful with all of this," Griner said. "It really is very
special. You know, it's the government and churches and humanitarian
agencies working together."

Griner expects the project to wrap up in late October.

For details on sending contributions or a work team to help with the
project, contact Griner at (352) 326-5672.

"Rarely do we have the opportunity to literally touch thousands of lives in
many countries," he said, "and this is doing that."
# # #
*Lewis is a free-lance writer and communication consultant based in Baton
Rouge, La. He can be reached at jglewis@premier.net.

______________
United Methodist News Service
http://www.umc.org/umns/
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(615)742-5472