Bloomington-Posoltega Newsletter
November 1999
Please note that most pictures in this report were taken by Jeremy Hogan, photographer, and are with permission of the Bloomington Herald-Times.
Thanks Bloomington! We Still Need You!
Overall, morale continues to improve. No longer are refugees sleeping on
school floors. Most are no longer in hot black tents on other
people's land. In the case of those in Santa Maria, they are now
living on the land that is their new community. They are developing a
sense of pride in this new place! While there we were presented with
the sign they had made to thank Bloomington for bringing together again
the communities of Rolando Rodriguez and El Porvenir. Although they are
living in temporary housing, essentially they are in their new home which
sees progress each day as the last of the temporary houses was recently
completed and they look forward to seeing the first of the permanent homes
go up. They will always be the survivors from Rolando Rodriguez and El
Porvenir, but now they are also the community of Santa Maria. Bloomington
and all who helped to make that possible should be rightfully proud!
But the crisis isn't over yet. It will be many months yet before the
community is back securely on its feet. There is much yet to be done, but
together there is nothing we can't do! Our biggest fear now is hunger.
Up-Date on Santa Maria (Survivor's Resettlement Community)
Three hundred and fifty white temporary housing units are being
constructed for the family that will comprise the community. When we
arrived, approximately 250 had been completed. At a rate of about fifty
houses every 2 weeks, they expected to have all the temporary homes
completed by August 30th. These are white heavy platic tent-like walls
around a simple wood frame with a tin roof. The next step will be the
construction of the permanent homes to begin in September. The materials
for the permanent homes are to be delivered in quantities for one hundred
houses per shipment. They expected the construction of each one hundred
homes to take about three months. At that rate all the homes should be
completed before the end of the year 2000. The community itself is
providing the manpower to build the homes. Only after they are built are
they assigned to a particular family. Everyone is helping everyone.
Hunger Threatens Even As Aid Continues
Special thanks to Rosalie Founds and Max Timbrook for their donation of 700, 60-pound bags of high lysine corn that can be used for tortillas and other foods and will greatly enhance nutrition for the approximately 1 to 1.5 months that the corn will last. It is due to arrive in Posoltega around mid November and should last until about Christmas. The dry season begins before Christmas, and we are afraid that our funds will run out soon. Even if they had land, they couldn't plant until the rains come in May. Please help us avoid famine in Posoltega with your contribution today! As you contemplate your Christmas festivities, please think of your brothers and sisters in Posoltega.
For the past year, in addition to food provisions, we have maintained a
fund for medical
emergencies to assist individuals with needs that cannot be met locally at
the small
Posoltega Health Center where free but limited services are available.
Because we fear running
out of money for food provisions, we are having to severely
cut
back and may have to totally eliminate this medical emergency fund.
It is awful to have to choose between food or medical care.
Please send your
contribution today in the enclosed envelope. If you like, you may earmark
your donation for
emergency food provisions, medical emergencies, the Children's Lunch
Program, or another use.
Sewing Project for Women in Santa Maria
One Year Later
For more information call Barbara Seitz de Martinez at 335-0851 (evenings and weekends) or Lee Mysliwiec at 331-8742. Or attend one of our monthly meetings, on the 1st Tuesday of each month, in Rm. 30 of the 1st Presbyterian Church, 221 E 6th St.
August 1999 Delegation Report
The first theme of the delegation, stress reduction, took the form of individual and group therapy sessions designed to teach Posoltegan hurricane refugees skills they can use to help themselves, their family members, and other survivors. At the same time, these sessions served as an enjoyable distraction from the stresses of everyday life. A variety of stress reduction techniques and physical therapies were taught. The techniques included massage therapy, acupressure, and healing touch. The delegation included persons certified to conduct the various therapies and techniques. Others involved children in stress reduction activities which included art, music, movement and games, led by a specialist in this field. Delegates assisted and translated as appropriate. With the children we followed the model of the popular "Caruseles" currently being conducted in Nicaragua for stress reduction. A Posoltega volunteer proficient in this model did on-site training and participated in the events. (For the first time in our 12-year history we felt we had enough translators!)
Another goal of this delegation was to document the current situation in
Posoltega and bring this news to the citizens of Bloomington, Indiana.
Bloomington has maintained a sister city relationship
with Posoltega over the past twelve years and especially in the aftermath
of the hurricane and mudslide which killed 2500 of Posoltega's pre-Mitch
population of 16,000. Having lost 2500 lives, over 3,000 homes, and 100%
of the harvest, the already impoverished agricultural town was left in
shambles and in a state of post traumatic shock. Amazing progress has
been made, physically and psychologically, although an overwhelming amount
of need remains. Only a handful of permanent houses have been built,
thousands are still in temporary shelters provided by the Red Cross, AID,
or
other international agencies.
They remain dependent on donated food
and medicines for survival. The rainy season will pass with little
agricultural activity due to the current economic and physical conditions.
Members
of the delegation, two journalists from the Bloomington Herald-Times,
recorded personal accounts, met with key political, religious, medical and
community leaders, and took extensive photographs. In addition, they
experienced firsthand some of the hardships and stresses
associated with this
fragile environment. They, too, walked miles in the heat, dust and
rain and coped with a series of earthquakes in Posoltega and
volcanic eruptions in nearby Leon.
Another project leader focused on nursing and educational activities and support to primary and secondary education, bringing a VHS, tape recorder, English language tapes and videos for the students at the High School. A Bloomington teacher from Harmony High School presented a guitar made by Bloomington students, laying a foundation for a sister school relationship between his school and Posoltega's secondary school.
Everyday new relationships blossomed between delegates and children, women and men of Posoltega. Everywhere warm welcomes, enthusiastic assistance and emotional exchanges alternately satisfied our souls and tore at our hearts. These experiences will live in our collective memories and propel our sisterhood into the future.
In addition to participating in a variety of stress reduction and other
project activities, the delegates had opportunities to participate in a
series of formal and informal interviews with survivors of the disaster,
community leaders and members of other international donor agencies.
Outstanding among these sometimes spontaneous, sometimes planned meetings
were visits with Candida Mendez Canales (a survivor), Father Benjamin
Villareal (pastor of Jesus del Nazarene Catholic Church of
Posoltega), Vice-Mayor Mayra Guevara, the Director and other personnel of
the Posoltega Health Center, Orbelina Soza Meirena (Chair
of the Posoltega-Bloomington Committee who has overseen our aid
distribution), and the donor agencies involved in the development of the
community Santa Maria. The conversations with Candida, Padre Villareal
and Vice Mayor Guevara were particularly moving as each recounted his/her
personal experiences throughout the catastrophy and its aftermath.
The participants in this summer's delegations to Posoltega included a group of high school students from Columbia County, New York (whose leaders raised $4600 for water projects), a nursing delegation from IUPUI, a 1st Presbyterian Church delegation, and the SCI August delegation that included a contingency from the 1st United Methodist Church of Bloomington.
Children's Lunch Program and Scholarships Continue
Fruit Tree Beautification Project
While in Posoltega a project design and budget were developed for the
beautification and nutritional and economic benefit of Santa Maria. The
primary expert for this project is one of our most successful
Posoltega university scholarship students, Yader Peralta, who is studying
at the School of Agriculture in Rivas. This project will put fruit
trees, mainly avacado and papaya, in every patio in Santa Maria.
Once abundant in the region, they have become increasingly scarce and
therefore
would be quite marketable, in addition to providing important nutrition
for the families. Papaya trees are one of the loveliest, and both are a
source of shade. We have received funds earmarked for this
project which should coincide with the completion of the first set of 100
permanent homes.
It seems a natural fit for Bloomington, sometimes called the City
of Trees.
Return Address:
Bloomington-Posoltega Committee
of Sister Cities, International
P.O. Box 1461
Bloomington, IN 47402-1461
Thanks!! and Endowment Request
Please help us to build an endowment. For example, you might designate 1/20th of your estate or $5,000. Your generosity would soon result in a significant and permanent fund earning interest to fuel future projects and secure the longevity of our sisterhood with Posoltega.
Finally, thanks to Mindy Nordhoff for making copies of this newsletter on
her color printer!
Newsletter Contents:
- Thanks, Bloomington! We Still Need You!
- Up-date from Santa Maria (Survivor's Resettlement Community)
- Hunger Threatens Even As Aid Continues
- Update from Santa Maria
- Sewing Project for Santa Maria
- Material Aid from Bloomington to Posoltega
- August Delegation Report
- Children's Lunch Program and Scholarships Continue
- Fruit Tree Project for Santa Maria
- Thanks!! and Endowment Request