wfn.org | ABCUSA: ABMen Coordinates Hurricane Clean-Up

["SCHRAMM, Richard" <Richard.Schramm@abc-usa.org>]

by Susan Gottshall, American Baptist National Ministries

American Baptist News Service (10/28/02)--In the wake of hurricane damage
estimated at $700 million throughout the south central U.S., officials of
the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Association (FEMA) asked ABMen
Disaster Relief--a program of National Ministries' Men's Ministries--to
coordinate the work of volunteer groups in the Louisiana cleanup effort. The
request marks the first time the government agency has invited an
organization to take on the disaster-wide coordination responsibility of
recovery response crews. 

Buren Sparks, ABMen's national coordinator for disaster relief, toured the
region with FEMA staff to survey the relief effort's scope the week after
Hurricane Lili stormed ashore.	To detail more specific recovery needs
Sparks returned with members of ABMen's West Virginia disaster relief group:
Leonard Howell, the Rev. Harry Drake and State Coordinator Fred Duffield.
In one week the four-member team visited each of Louisiana's 27 parishes
(counties) damaged by Tropical Storm Isidore and Hurricane Lili,
interviewing town mayors and emergency service directors to develop a
comprehensive list of sites requiring cleanup.

Where the eye of Lili passed through--to the west of New Orleans--Sparks
said thousands of trees, felled by the hurricane's winds, covered yards and
roads and tore open the building rooftops.  Isidore's main damage fell to
the east of the city, where its heavy rains left a swath of flooding.  "Wind
to the west, water to the east," Sparks said. "People lost everything and
they didn't have much to start with."

Dick Balnicky, FEMA's voluntary agency liaison, said the idea to utilize
ABMen to coordinate volunteers came by way of the group itself.  At the
national VOAD (Volunteer Organization Action in Disaster) conference in
Oklahoma City in the spring, ABMen "made an excellent presentation" about
its disaster program and suggested the group also could coordinate national
disaster recovery efforts.
The suggestion struck an immediate chord with Balnicky, who said he thought,
"Wow, that is one area that has not been addressed."  The current Louisiana
effort is a test case; according to Balnicky, "They were sure right on....
[Sparks] and his guys clearly proved they know what they are doing.  All of
us have been tremendously impressed."

In a letter thanking National Ministries for the ABMen ministry, Peter Van
Hook, disaster response and recovery liaison for Church World Service,
wrote: "[Sparks] worked with little more than suggestions and did a
magnificent job, serving those who needed help after a pair of devastating
storms.  I hope that the American Baptist Men will consider making this
ministry of coordination a permanent part of their disaster relief efforts."

The Rev. Dr. David C. Laubach, National Ministries' associate executive
director for Congregational and Evangelistic Ministries, expressed his
appreciation to Sparks and the ABMen disaster team from West Virginia "for
their unhesitant and generous response" to FEMA's call.  "This is a new role
for ABMen and a strong affirmation by the federal government of their
leadership and skills," Laubach said.

Sparks will work as national coordinator into early November, matching
recovery jobs with Southern Baptist, Lutheran, Methodist, Mennonite and
Seventh Day Adventist volunteer groups.

The ABMen emergency disaster relief ministry, begun in the mid-1990s,
includes nine region-based tractor trailers loaded with disaster cleanup
equipment and staffed by hundreds of volunteers.  These trailers have
provided relief for thousands of victims.  Most recently ABMen Disaster
Relief was involved in the New York City cleanup and recovery following
Sept. 11, 2001, along with post-flood recovery in West Virginia. 

National Ministries maintains certifications for the ABMen trailer ministry
through its office of National Disaster Response and supports volunteer
relief work through Volunteers In Mission.  Information is available at
www.nationalministries.org or by calling 1-800-ABC-3USA/x2034 or 2449.

02ABN154

American Baptist News Service: Office of Communication, American Baptist
Churches USA, P.O. Box 851, Valley Forge, PA 19482-0851; (610)768-2077; fax:
(610)768-2320; www.abc-usa.org; richard.schramm@abc-usa.org