wfn.org | Habitat project will be symbol in South Africa

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>]

March 14, 2002       News media contact: Linda Bloom7(212) 870-38037New York
10-71B{108}

NEW YORK (UMNS) - When a National Council of Churches group joins a Habitat
for Humanity work project in South Africa this spring, it will do more than
merely build houses.

The land itself is a symbol of that country's past legacy of legalized
racial separation, giving volunteers an opportunity "to lift up issues of
racism and justice" as they pound nails, according to the Rev. Robert Edgar,
a United Methodist pastor who serves as the NCC's chief executive.

This year's Jimmy Carter Work Project is situated on an undeveloped plot of
land in Durban. In the early 1960s, thousands of Indians and black Africans
were forcibly removed from the land and their houses torn down by the
apartheid government. More than 2,000 volunteers are expected to build 100
houses there during the week of June 2-8.

Edgar himself plans to lead a delegation of at least 42 people to
participate in the work project. The group will leave on May 27 and also
spend time in Johannesburg visiting local church projects and meeting with
local activists before proceeding to Durban.

As a veteran of the 2001 Jimmy Carter Work Project in South Korea, Edgar
knows the volunteers get just as much from the experience as those who are
able to move into the completed homes. "The camaraderie and collegiality and
learning from each other is very important," he said.

One of the comrades that Edgar found in South Korea was the Rev. Ken Bensen,
pastor of Faith United Methodist Church in Lansing, Mich., and president of
Habitat for Humanity of Michigan. He has overseen the building of 1,800
homes in Michigan and helped raise more than $5 million a year in the state
for Habitat.

The Michigan pastor has since become a liaison between the NCC and Habitat,
charged to work with member communions "to begin to set up programs for them
at the denominational level," Bensen explained.

At the congregational level, United Methodists already are very active in
Habitat. "The United Methodist Church has the biggest number of churches of
any denomination that participate in Habitat, but we are second to the
Presbyterians in terms of dollars given," he said. 

Statistics from the year 2000 show that 1,770 United Methodist congregations
participated in Habitat projects and that the denomination contributed $2.5
million to the organization's work. The Presbyterian Church USA contributed
$3.7 million, with 1,020 congregations participating. Other religious groups
contributing more than $1 million were the Jewish Reformed, Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America and Roman Catholic Church.

Habitat for Humanity of Michigan has raised $50,000 to be a sponsor in the
South Africa work project and will send 150 volunteers. Bensen, however,
will accompany the NCC group to South Africa.

The estimated cost for each volunteer in the NCC delegation is $2,500. Those
interested can contact Vicki Manning, Edgar's executive assistant, by e-mail
at vmanning@ncccusa.org or by telephone at (212) 870-2025. Participants will
need to return the application with a $1,000 deposit by the end of March to
reserve a space.

Bensen said other groups of volunteers could obtain information about the
South Africa work project by calling 1-800-Habitat.

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United Methodist News Service
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