wfn.org | Volunteers will build homes for El Salvador quake victims

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

June 4, 2001  News media contact: Linda Bloom·(212)870-3803·New York
10-32-71B{253}

By United Methodist News Service 

United Methodist volunteer teams will build 300 homes for victims of last
winter's earthquakes in El Salvador.

A project of United Methodist Volunteers In Mission (UMVIM) and the United
Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), the work will take place in the
neighborhoods of Ichanmichen, El Espino, Tacuba, Tepetitan and Santo
Domingo. 

A major earthquake struck El Salvador on Jan. 13, followed by a second on
Feb. 13. In addition to more than 1,000 deaths and thousands of injuries,
the quakes damaged 315,000 houses, affecting more than a million people.

The teams will construct the 450-square-foot block homes for widows, single
mothers and the elderly "who cannot rebuild themselves," said Jeanie
Blankenbaker, an executive with the United Methodist Board of Global
Ministries. The denomination also will support the rebuilding of another 200
homes by residents through the "food for work" program of Action By Churches
Together (ACT).

"We're working with the poorest of the poor, the people the government is
not helping," Blankenbaker added.

Florrie Snow, a United Church of Canada missionary, will be in El Salvador
June 10 through August to help with the scheduling and hosting of the
volunteer teams. "She has many years of experience bringing UMVIM teams into
Chile," Blankenbaker said.

Snow will assist Karen Mayorga, of the Methodist Church of El Salvador.
Marino Chacon, a local contractor, has been hired by the church to oversee
construction. Maria Lopez, disaster response coordinator for the Methodist
Church in Puerto Rico, has served as a liaison between ACT and the local
church. 

An emerging autonomous denomination, the Methodist Church of El Salvador,
led by the Rev. Juan Mayorga, currently has seven congregations. Besides the
relief efforts, the Board of Global Ministries staff has worked with the
church in developing plans for ministry, program strategies and leadership
training.

Although a few teams will visit the country this summer, Blankenbaker
expects the heaviest scheduling to be in the fall. Each team, limited to 12
people, is being asked to contribute $3,000 for the cost of materials for
one home.

More than 85 teams already have expressed interest in the El Salvador
project, according to Blankenbaker. Interested groups can continue to call
the Volunteer Hotline at (800) 918-3100 to register teams and receive
information packets.

Donations are being sought to assist with the work. Checks should be
designated for UMCOR Advance Special No. 511447-8, "El Salvador Earthquake,"
and dropped in church collection plates or mailed directly to Michael
Deborja, Mission Volunteers Office, Suite 1374, 475 Riverside Dr., New York,
NY 10115. More information is available at
http://gbgm-umc.org/vim/elsalvador.htm online.
 
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United Methodist News Service
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