Worldwide Activity Report -- April 1997
FAR040 - GP

Copyright 1997 by The Family

         Every day, in nearly 80 countries spanning the globe, full-time Family volunteers work to bring hope, happiness and God's love to others. Following are some highlights of their recent activities.

Teenagers "making a difference"
         About 2,700 of The Family's nearly 13,000 full- and part-time members are teenagers. Full of energy and purpose, they spearhead many of our outreaches worldwide. The oversees volunteer work of two young members on furlough in Australia caught the attention of newspaper reporter Kara Lawrence, which resulted in the following front-page article and photo in the Gold Coast (Aust.) Bulletin, January 17, 1997:

Bosnian aid pair hit the right note
         While many teenagers are working out what to do with their lives, Maria Hansen and Virginia Buckley are spending their teenage years bringing hope and direction to others.
         The pair are spending a little time relaxing on the Gold Coast before returning to Bosnia and Croatia, where they have spent the past six months as volunteer humanitarian aid workers.
         As part of their work for the international non-denominational Family Mission Christian aid organisation, they have spent the past two years travelling Europe.
         Maria, 19, from Norway, and Virginia, 18, formerly of the Gold Coast, both began humanitarian work in earnest after growing up with parents who also travelled working for the Family Mission.
         "I wanted to feel needed. I wanted something exciting," said Virginia.
         Unlike organisations such as Red Cross, which has a strong focus on food and medical aid, Family Missions specializes in spiritual aid.
         "We went there in the aftermath (of the fighting) when people were not sure what was happening and we tried to give them some hope for the future and comfort the ones who lost loved ones," said Maria.

Medical care for the poorest of the poor
From Tito, medical doctor and full-time Family volunteer, Peru
         This month Claire and I spent five days assisting a Catholic-run project in the Rocchac district of Huancavelica, a town in the poorest and most neglected part of the country. Health and hygiene conditions in Rocchac are precarious at best. There is only one flush toilet in the district, which has a population of 5,000. The running water is not drinkable. Of school-age children, 80% suffer from malnutrition and 50% have intestinal parasites.
         Working from 5 a.m. to sundown, we gave 150 free medical check-ups in those few days. Everyone we treated was very grateful, as were the project's semi-trained medical personnel. Doctors rarely visit that district.
         When we announced our departure, everyone begged us to stay. That wasn't possible due to other commitments, but now that we better understand their needs we plan to return with more supplies and better equipment.

Northern California flood relief
From Rufus, USA
         Relentless rain and unseasonably high temperatures caused rivers all over Northern California to break their levees and sweep through towns and farmland, forcing 125,000 people from their homes and causing damage estimated at 3.5 billion dollars. Twenty-five California counties were declared national disaster areas.
         Four other Family members and I were asked by the Red Cross to help man one of their busiest shelters for 1,000 flood victims. Conditions at emergency shelters are by definition difficult, but the situation at this one was compounded by the fact that many of the evacuees were large families who had recently emigrated to the States. They spoke little or no English and were quite disoriented.
         Organizing the kitchen and sectioning off play areas for the children were our first undertakings. Then we distributed donated toys and organized scheduled activities to keep the children happy through their ordeal. By night we helped the mothers with their babies and small children, and made sure that everyone was as comfortable as possible. When the last of the families were allowed to leave the shelter and make their way home, the Red Cross and military personnel thanked us over and over for our help.

Friends new and old join project to aid struggling orphanage
From Masha, Russia
         Last year several of us traveled from Moscow to Kamchatka, a peninsula of Far Eastern Russia between the Sea of Okhotsk and the Bering Sea. In the course of our volunteer work, we were especially struck by the poor conditions at one of the orphanages where we performed. When we returned to Moscow, we contacted different companies to ask their help in sponsoring a new aid project for needy children in Kamchatka.
         Before long we had received donations of food, warm clothing, blankets, sheets, towels and many other items. One company even gave 500 kg of marshmallows -- a luxury item in Russia that certainly none of these orphans had ever sampled!
         We also wanted to give the orphanage a set of Family-produced children's videos, which meant we needed one more sponsor. Upon hearing about our project, the owner of a Moscow casino sponsored not one but two full sets of videos, and gave us a generous donation towards our other expenses.
         Transportation for ourselves and all the aid we had collected was our next obstacle. Moscow and Kamchatka are nearly 6,000 km (3,750 miles) apart, and one round-trip plane fare is about $800. The same airline that helped us make our first trip gave us four more tickets, flew us Standard Class -- the Russian equivalent of Business Class -- and waived the overweight fee on our hundreds of kilos of supplies!
         Visiting the children at the orphanage and seeing their reaction to the aid we brought them more than compensated for all the time and effort we had put into gathering the supplies. Our hearts were melted by the warm responses, happy smiles, affection and appreciation they showered on us throughout our stay.

A challenge to change
From Andy, Maria and Ariana, Colombia
         Our work in various prisons -- one holding 400 guerrillas, and another holding some of the world's most notorious drug lords -- drew special recognition from INPEC, Colombia's national prison authority. Officials recently asked us to help with a new project for prisoners scheduled for release. We hold special counseling sessions with these prisoners and their families -- some of whom have been separated for many years -- during which we offer spiritual counsel, practical advice and a challenge to build happy, honest, productive new lives together.

Helping Tajiki refugees
From Virginia, Russia
         A few months ago we began seeing people in traditional Muslim dress on the streets around a nearby shopping area. We stopped to talk to them, and learned that they were refugees from the five-year civil war in Tajikistan, a former Soviet republic bordering China and Afghanistan. Whenever we saw them after that, we offered them some of the fruit, bread, milk and other foodstuffs that local merchants had donated to our work. After a few meetings we told them that we would like to meet their extended family.
         When we arrived at their camp we were shocked to find about 200 refugees living in hovels made of plastic bags and banana boxes! Children walked barefoot in the snow. One of the families invited us into their "home," where a meager meal was cooking over a small open fire. Even though they had so little, they begged us to stay and eat with them. We appreciated the chance to get to know them better. Many of their accounts of recent experiences were heart-wrenching.
         When it was time for us to leave, Silas couldn't find his shoes. We had all left our shoes at the door, as is the custom, and apparently someone had stolen his. The patriarch of the clan was very apologetic and promised to find the guilty person and punish them.
         "That won't be necessary," Silas explained. "I'm sure at some time we've all done things which were wrong and which we regretted later. Jesus came to teach us about God's love and mercy, and when Jesus gave His life for us, He bought our forgiveness. Consider the shoes a gift."
         The next time we returned to the camp, we took them boxes of warm clothes and shoes, bread, beans, lentils, baby food, fruit and homemade cookies. Everyone was very thankful.
         We continue to encourage these poor people, help them all we can, and pray for long-term solutions to their extremely difficult circumstances. They really have nowhere to go and are very needy, but where God's love is at work, there is hope!

         The Family is a non-profit, volunteer organization. Each of the activities you have just read about was made possible through donations from businesses, associations and concerned individuals. If you would like more information about The Family, or if you would like to help sponsor Family volunteers or projects, please contact us at one of the addresses below:

Web: http://www.thefamily.org/family
E-mail: family@thefamily.org


Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family