wfn.org | ADRA - Adventist Development & Relief Agency News

["Christian B. Schäffler" <APD_Info_Schweiz@compuserve.com>]

November 6, 1998
Adventist Press Service (APD)
Christian B. Schaeffler, Editor-in-chief
Fax +41-61-261 61 18
APD@stanet.ch
CH-4003 Basel, Switzerland
98/NOV/06-01

ADRA CONTINUES RELIEF IN DEVASTATED NICARAGUA

MANAGUA, NICARAGUA, 06.11.1998 [ADRA/APD] The 
Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) is delivering 
desperately needed relief materials to thousands of refugees 
in the aftermath of the worst natural disaster in Nicaragua this 
century, reports Ed Baumgartner, ADRA Nicaragua director.

ADRA is currently distributing 420 tons of a corn and soy 
blend cereal and 98 tons of vegetable oil, enough food for 
57,000 people for one month, based on a ration size that 
provides 1,000 calories per day and 40 grams of protein. 
ADRA staff's biggest challenge in distributing items is to reach 
those in need as roads and bridges are still non-existent or 
impassable in most of the country.

Today, ADRA Nicaragua received eight large water storage 
and transport bladders, which it is using to deliver 250 gallons 
of fresh water at a time to areas in great need. Some of the 
bladders have a capacity of 500 gallons, which are serving as 
refillable storage systems able to fulfil the drinking water 
needs of more than a thousand people each day.

ADRA is acting as the receiving organisation at the Managua 
airport for United States Agency for International 
Development  (USAID) food shipments to Nicaragua. This 
weekend, the first 100 tons of food, out of a total of 1,112 
tons, will arrive at the Managua airport and then be 
transported to ADRA's warehouse in Ocotal. The External Co-
operation office of the government is providing 24-hour 
staffing to facilitate the customs process for all aid arriving, 
reducing the normal 30-day process to less than an hour.

The USAID food shipments will arrive daily for the next three 
weeks for delivery into accessible areas in and around 
Managua, including Leon and Chinandega. ADRA, along with 
Save the Children and Project Concern International, will truck 
the food to desperate areas within hours of the plane's arrival. 
A 15-day supply of rice for 20,000 people are currently being 
delivered to refugee centres in Nuevo Segovia.

Earlier this week, ADRA Nicaragua with assistance from the 
Nicaraguan military delivered 3,000 bags (25 kilos each) of 
cereal and 3,000 cans (four litres each) of vegetable oil to the 
north portion of the country. ADRA Nicaragua in co-operation 
with USAID is using food commodities from its regular 
program for emergency relief efforts. The food reserves of this 
US$2 million project are authorised in their entirety to be used 
for relief for the people who have lost their homes, 
possessions or planned harvest of subsistence food crops.

ADRA personnel in co-operation with the Seventh-day 
Adventist Church are using a mobile clinic staffed with a 
medical team to give relief to those affected by the storm, 
attending several hundred people daily. "What we see in 
our relief efforts is indescribable. People are suffering and 
have lost everything," says Ruben Rojas, an ADRA employee 
and member of the mobile clinic. "We find people with fever, 
foot and leg fungus and diarrhoea."

Baumgartner reports that ADRA is receiving more than 
US$100,000 from ADRA's international network to purchase 
medicines, temporary shelter material, blankets, chlorine, 
toothpaste, soap, laundry detergent, toilet paper, candles and 
matches for victims of Hurricane Mitch. Roofing materials are 
being purchased in the next few days, such as plastic sheeting 
for temporary shelters.

With an estimated 750,000 homeless (one-fifth of the entire 
population), 1,500 dead and thousands missing, ADRA is 
moving quickly to bring relief to the country. "With a presence 
in more than 150 countries and a strong network of partners 
who are willing to help in this tragedy, ADRA is receiving a lot 
of support," says Baumgartner. "ADRA is no stranger to 
participating in relief operations in Nicaragua. The agency 
began its work in the country in 1988 when ADRA, through 
donations from Denmark, constructed 100 homes on Corn 
Island and distributed clothing to affected people following 
Hurricane Joan. In 1991, ADRA again brought relief to victims 
of the volcanic eruptions of Cerro Negro."

"All is of this is possible at such short notice because over 
time ADRA has developed ongoing community programs in 
Nicaragua and Honduras," says Wally Amundson ADRA 
director for Latin America and the Caribbean. "ADRA is able to 
build on the relationships we already have with the 
community to deliver emergency assistance very effectively.

Additional information can be found on ADRA's web page at 
www.adra.org.

*******

ADRA RESPONDS TO MITCH'S DESTRUCTION IN CENTRAL 
AMERICA

MIAMI, FLORIDA, 05.11.1998  [ADRA/APD]  With almost all 
water in the affected region now unsafe to drink, the 
Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) in 
Nicaragua is distributing chlorine for purifying muddy flood 
water and delivering 10 military-type water bladders for clean 
water: four holding 250 gallons each, five holding 500 gallons 
each, and one holding 800 gallons.

Additionally, ADRA is directing 100 Medicine Boxes to 
Nicaragua and 100 to Honduras. Included in every Inter-
church Medical Assistence (IMA) box are 70 pounds of each 
country's most needed medicines and supplies, including 
gauze and bandages.

ADRA Nicaragua staff performed more than 300 medical 
consultations over the past three days in their mobile clinic, 
using US$1,200 worth of medicines. According to Ed 
Baumgartner, ADRA Nicaragua director, that mobile clinic is 
now isolated due to flood waters, but continues to provide as 
much assistance as possible.

Six ADRA workers are working directly with the Nicaraguan 
Civil Defence and Red Cross to assist in the transportation of 
supplies, displaced persons and emergency care using two 
ADRA vehicles. Four additional staff members and the same 
number of ADRA vehicles are being used in other locations to 
help with disaster response efforts.

Because most roads are inaccessible leaving entire cities 
isolated, ADRA Nicaragua staff are building a makeshift ferry 
out of barrels and planks in order to move relief supplies and 
people in and out of Ocotal, the location of ADRA's project for 
child survival and supplementary feeding.

Seventh-day Adventist Churches in Nicaragua collected and 
distributed 2,000 pounds of clothing and US$500 worth of 
food in the last several days with the help of 500 Pathfinders, 
a scout-like organisation. Approximately 200 Master Guides, 
leaders in the Pathfinders group, are working with the local 
Civil Defence to do assessments and to distribute supplies.

"This is the worst disaster for Nicaragua this century, 
considerably worse than the earthquake of 1972 that 
destroyed the capital, Managua," explains Baumgartner.
 "People are wading through flood waters full of sewage, 
causing many victims to suffer from lower extremity fungal 
problems. Roads come to abrupt halts as the asphalt cuts off 
where the rivers, like angry demons, have torn away bridges 
and river banks."

Baumgartner reports that there are 2,000 known dead in 
Nicaragua, 400,000 people displaced, 2,500 kilometres (1,550 
miles) of road destroyed or damaged, and 50 bridges are 
destroyed or unusable. The December crop harvest for the 
rural subsistent farmers is gone, leaving 80 percent of the 
rural population facing starvation by December or January.

In Honduras, ADRA continues to house hurricane victims in 
five shelters located on the mainland and in the Bay Islands. 
ADRA Central Office and the ADRA regional office, located in 
Coral Gables, Florida, are sending US$30,000 to provide 
emergency food assistance for an estimated 1,300 families. 
Additionally ADRA is shipping a container of 105 rolls of plastic 
sheeting for shelter, 850 tarps, and 100 blankets, all valued at 
US$28,000, to the Bay Islands. The items are for distribution 
to the islanders and other needy residents of affected coastal 
towns.

"There has been a tremendous outpouring of community 
involvement and participation throughout the United States," 
says Wally Amundson, ADRA director for the region. "One 
example is that of a Miami businessman who made his 
shipping company available for moving hundreds of tons of 
relief supplies to the Bay Islands on short notice."

Last week, the members of the Comayaguela Seventh-day 
Adventist Church, the largest in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, 
collected relief supplies for distribution within the country. 
Within two days, a 40-foot container, filled with food, clothing, 
and 240 boxes of diapers was distributed to flood victims. The 
Seventh-day Adventist Church in the Cayman Islands also co-
ordinated an airlift of relief goods that were distributed on 
Saturday, October 30, to the Bay Islands.

"Although so many people in Honduras are suffering from the 
devastation, many are showing a tremendous sense of 
volunteerism and concern for their neighbours, even during 
this time of insecurity," says Wally Amundson. "This goes 
beyond the basic instincts of survival."

Walter Britton, ADRA Honduras director, reports that nearly 
175,000 people are homeless and there is US$500 million of 
damage nation-wide. "Most are hungry, thirsty, cold, and 
without adequate shelter. Children, especially, are suffering," 
Britton adds.

Tegucigalpa, along with San Pedro Sula, the large industrial 
city on the northern coast, Choluteca on the Pacific side, and 
Yoro, La Paz, and dozens of smaller towns throughout the 
country, have been officially put in a state of emergency. In 
the Department of Olancho, 200 communities are cut off from 
all communication.

Britton relates that little is left of Guanaja, the worst hit of the 
three Bay Islands, after Mitch hovered for 52 hours. All 12,000 
residents of Guanaja are homeless, some sleeping in boats, 
some under the remains of toppled houses, and others in the 
only seven remaining concrete buildings, and a Seventh-day 
Adventist school, miraculously left standing.

Most major roads leading out of Tegucigalpa are blocked. 
Bridges are out halfway to San Pedro Sula, and near 
Choluteca. Mudslides and overflowing creeks are halting traffic 
to Valle de Angeles, Campamento and Danli. Tens of 
thousands of travellers and commuters are detained with 
friends or relatives, in hotels, or in their cars, waiting for roads 
to be cleared.

In Valle de Angeles, situated some 20 miles out of 
Tegucigalpa, electricity and telephone lines have been cut by 
falling trees and mudslides. Access by road has been halted 
from similar problems, leaving the area in the dark and 
without prospects of immediate restoration until the highway 
is cleared and the national electric company can arrive to 
assist.

"The international community needs to come to the aid of 
Honduras and Nicaragua, nations already struggling from 
years of drought and other disasters," says Britton.

*******

ADRA OPERATES EMERGENCY SHELTERS FOR HOMELESS 
HURRICANE VICTIMS 
 
TEGUCIGALPA, HONDURAS, 01.11.1998 [ADRA/APD] Six 
emergency shelters operated by Adventist Development and 
Relief Agency (ADRA) volunteers are providing temporary 
housing to thousands of Hondurans who are fleeing the rising 
flood waters from Hurricane Mitch's two-day torrential 
downpour. 

ADRA is operating four emergency shelters, one each in 
Tokoa, La Ceiba, San Pedro Sula and Puerto Cortez, where 
they are providing food and water. Additionally, on two 
nearby Bay Islands, Guanaja and Utila, ADRA is helping to 
provide relief services at two Seventh-day Adventist schools 
serving as makeshift living quarters. 

On October 28, local television channel 6 provided a full-
length report to the nation on the relief activities provided by 
ADRA and local Seventh-day Adventist congregations, who are 
making their churches and schools available for shelter. 
Pathfinders, a scout-like organisation, are helping to deliver 
food and water to people in the shelters. 

"Hurricane Mitch is the worst storm to hit Honduras and 
adjacent Central American countries in 24 years," says Walter 
Britton, ADRA Honduras director. "Hurricane Fifi caused 
extensive damage in 1974."

Mitch has caused serious damage in the entire northern coast 
of Honduras, reports Britton. At least 32 are dead and many 
more are missing. Nearly 53,000 victims have evacuated from 
cities along the coast, and at least 25 towns are left without 
electricity.

Communication with the Bay Islands is virtually cut off, and 
telephone lines, air and ocean transport among the islands are 
not functioning. Thousands of homeless are huddled in 
precarious shelters along coastal rivers as waters continue to 
rise and rescue is not securely in sight. On the island of 
Guanaja, 65 percent of the houses have been damaged, and 
200 totally destroyed.	

Rivers are overflowing, with their roaring waters destroying 
several bridges and leaving many people isolated. Authorities 
and the press are warning that higher winds and deeper 
waters are still ahead, adds Britton. Meanwhile, the National 
Weather Station is advising that the situation is likely to 
become worse as the storm continues, and the media has 
warned that all coastal residents should be on the alert to 
evacuate as soon as possible to safer areas. 

Honduran President Carlos Flores has declared the country in 
a state of emergency, and has placed various branches of the 
military, national guard, and the private sector on alert to 
intervene with maximum service to aid victims.

*****

RELIEF EFFORTS CONTINUE IN CHIAPAS 

COLONIAL NARVARTE, MEXICO, 01.11.1998 [ADRA/APD] The 
Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) continues 
into its seventh week of disaster response efforts in Chiapas, 
Mexico, assisting thousands of the half million people affected 
by the worst floods to immerse southern Mexico in 40 years.

"There is still a great need for assistance," says Rafael Garcia, 
ADRA Mexico director. "Devastation is everywhere and there 
are many heartbroken people in Chiapas." 

In co-ordination with local government authorities, ADRA 
Mexico began this week the delivery of metal roof sheeting to 
survivors' homes in the coastal areas of Pijijiapan, Escuintla, 
Huixtla, Acapetahua and Mapastepec whose roofs were blown 
away during the storms that brought torrential rains. The 216 
recipient families will receive two packages of 10 metal sheets 
each (4,320 pieces total), enough to re-roof a simple dwelling. 

There are entire communities having to relocate because 
flooding has not only destroyed their homes, but has 
deposited rocks and debris that leave the land unsuitable for 
tilling and for rebuilding, explains Garcia. The government has 
issued some of these families with new locations and housing. 

ADRA Mexico also continues to provide food to those most in 
need. ADRA just completed the delivery of 3,832 food baskets 
to the same coastal areas during the second week of October. 
With this food delivery, ADRA Mexico has delivered more than 
8,500 food baskets to at least 27,500 flood survivors 
throughout much of the affected Mexican state, aid valued at 
US$35,000. Each food basket contains items such as beans, 
rice, milk, cooking oil, pasta and corn flower.

Both the roof sheeting and food deliveries are being made 
possible by a US$72,600 grant from ADRA Germany and 
US$13,000 from the ADRA Central Office in Silver Spring, 
Maryland. "ADRA appreciates the quick and effective 
monetary response to this disaster by the German 
government through ADRA Germany," says Wally Amundson,
 ADRA vice president for the region. "ADRA's ability to respond 
to such disasters in Mexico is greatly enhanced by such 
partnerships."

"Everyone is trying to help in whatever way they can," Garcia 
adds. "At the end of September, a private donor brought his 
truck full of pasta and cookies to assist us in our food delivery 
to Motozintla's affected families. We requested the Mexican 
Army to deliver the food by helicopter to areas we couldn't 
reach. Impressed by our initiative, the captain in charge also 
decided to add cartons of milk to our baskets."

Garcia adds that most newspapers are suggesting that it will 
take at least another three months for the country to 
recuperate from the devastation. Some people are still living 
in shelters or with family members as they wait for financial 
assistance.

*******  END