A Palmeros’ story: Joel Cabrera Rodas

Joel Cabrera Rodas harvests palm in Chiapas, Mexico. Photo: Pronatura Sur A.C. 

My name is Joel Cabrera Rodas, I’m 25 years old. I live in Tierra y Libertad community in the Sepultura Biosphere Reserve, in the Sierra Madre de Chiapas in Mexico. I started cutting palms illegally when I was 16 years old. We didn’t know anything about sustainable management then; we just cut the fronds and sold them very cheap. But then we were caught by the authorities and I couldn’t live from this activity anymore.

I tried to migrate to United States like my brothers but we were caught again and I had to come back home with empty hands. It was a very difficult experience; we suffered while walking hours in the heat of the desert without knowing if we would make it through.

When I came back my father gave me five hectares of land and I began to cultivate the palm with other community members. We were able to organize our group with the help of Pronatura Sur and the Biosphere Reserve. We built a nursery and started planting below the trees in the mountain. Then in 2008 we obtained a legal permit to harvest the palm and we began selling it, but still the price was cheap.

With the Eco-Palm Program we feel that there are people who recognize the efforts we are doing to preserve the mountain and make a better living for our families. Last year it also gave us the opportunity to buy school supplies for child care and primary school in the community, with the rebate we received.

Now I’m working as one of the managers of the regional organization PROPACH. With it we will try to organize all the communities that cultivate palm in a sustainable manner in the Sierra Madre de Chiapas.

I would like to thank the churches and people that participate in Eco-Palm Program because you help us construct a better future in our community, for my one-year old daughter and all the other children.

By Joel Cabrera Rodas

This story is courtesy of Pronatura Sur A.C.  The projects are part of the Sacred Orchid of Chiapas project supported by Global Environment Facility (GEF).  UMCOR is a supporter of the Eco-Palm Project in partnership with the University of Minnesota.  To order Eco-Palms visit www.ecopalms.org.

Food on the Table

Bethuel Lesuk Andaria stands in his cassava farm which is proving fruitful after receiving farmer training. Photo: UMCOR Sudan

My name is Bethuel Lesuk Andaria, I attended the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) farmer training on April 28, 2011, that was conducted by UMCOR in South Sudan. We learned how to cultivate an improved variety of cassava. After the training, UMCOR distributed cuttings of the new variety of cassava to the farmers who were in attendance.

All of the farmers in Kenyi boma, Lainya county, including myself usually plant the local variety of cassava, which is not resistant to cassava diseases and takes 18 months to harvest. This season we planted this new variety, which is more disease resistant and can be harvested in just eight months.

I planted the cuttings provided by UMCOR on May 16, 2011 and monitored how well they grew in comparison to the local variety. Within two weeks the difference was clear. It was then that I realized that UMCOR has really helped us and given us a way to produce more food and sustain our families.

The crop is now five months old and is growing very fast and has been resistant to diseases. I plan to harvest it by February 2012 and it may go straight to my family because this variety is sweet and not bitter. I may store some of it for the next season. Many farmers from other villages have been asking to buy some cuttings from my garden, but I do not plan to sell it.

I am not the only one who had such a good result with this new variety of cassava. The 67 of us who attended the food security training in April are also having the same satisfying experience as me. I am very thankful to UMCOR who brought this new variety to us.

Bethuel Lesuk Andaria is an UMCOR Sudan beneficiary

Improving the Lives of Children


 

UMCOR constructed two permanent blocks of classrooms with furniture as well as an office for the teachers in Lasu Camp, Sudan. The UMCOR Sudan project was funded by Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration and the US Department of State. Photo: UMCOR Sudan

  By Lemeringa Leon

Congolese refugees arrived in Lasu Camp in Yei River County in February 2009. The South Sudan government and landlords gave some residential land for the refugee camp. Life was miserable for the refugees. They had limited facilities and there was no school for the children, remembers Lemeringa Leon, headmaster of the Nyori 2 Primary School at the camp.

He recalls that in June 2009 they decided to start a school under the trees and later ACROSS (implementing organization) of UNCHR constructed temporary classrooms using local materials. But those structures were not conducive for learning, especially during the rainy season.

“During this hard situation, the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) came in with a useful education program for refugee pupils in the camp,” said Leon. UMCOR constructed two permanent blocks of classrooms with furniture as well as an office for the teachers. UMCOR also constructed three blocks of pit latrines and hand washing facilities. Students received school uniforms, health kits, and school kits to help them improve both their health and learning. Donated sports equipment also helped the students.

UMCOR distributes hygiene and school kits for pupils at Nyori 2 primary school. Photo: UMCOR Sudan

 “UMCOR also conducted PTA training for teachers, parents, and the school management committee,” recalls Leon. “It made a positive impact on the teachers and parents committee, which resulted in an increase in pupil’s enrollment in the school.” He reports all the facilities are now being used by the school.

“We are very happy with UMCOR’s support.” Leon says. “I love UMCOR and thank UMCOR for the best services that UMCOR has given us.”

This UMCOR-Sudan project was funded by Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, US Department of State. The program is continuing in 2012 in the same refugee camp.

Lemeringa Leon is the headmaster of the Nyori 2 Primary School



New temporary office at Nyori 2 Primary School



A Story of Survival from Typhoon Washi

Eusevia Cortez, an 82 year-old survivor of Typhoon Washi, receives emergency supplies from an UMCOR volunteer.  Photo: UMCOR Philippines

On the night of December 16, while many in the Philippines were celebrating Simbang Gabi (nine days of evening mass to celebrate the beginning of Christmas), flash floods raged through towns in the Southern Philippine island of Mindanao, catching many by surprise. 

Eusevia Cortez, an 82 year-old woman, is one survivor of the flash floods that swept away almost her entire neighborhood in the city of Iligan.  Thousands of people experienced the same nighttime floods that were caused by Typhoon Sendong (Washi). 

Ms. Eusevia had lived in a small bamboo home for years until the water washed it all away. Though she lived near the vicinity of river, it never occurred to her that she was in danger.

On that fatal night, strong rain came followed by a powerful wind. Then, the rampaging flood rolled through town. Ms. Eusevia tried to call out for help, but the roaring water drowned out her voice.  Even if her voice had been heard, no one could come to help her— her neighbors were struggling to save themselves. Ms. Eusevia cried out to God for help.  

Nothing was left after the waters receded.  Ms. Eusevia lost her home and all of her belongings.  She has no idea how she survived and attributes it to God.

Today, Ms. Eusevia is thankful for the help that The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) extended to the survivors of Typhoon Washi.  “Your assistance is a big help, it gives me hope and determination to continue living in the midst of hopelessness and despair,” she said.

Eusevia’s story does not end here. Her story of survival is just starting. While she is well and alive in spite of the flood taking everything from her, she needs to start all over again and this is not easy for an 82 year-old woman who struggles to make ends meet. She will need a lot of help to recover.

You can help UMCOR provide assistance to Ms. Esuvia and other survivors of Typhoon Washi by giving to Philippines Emergency, UMCOR Advance #240235.

Dark and Rainy Night

 

 

UMCOR Staff Ciony Eduarte and volunteers prepare to distribute blankets and mats. 

 

Cold winds of December nights give us chills and excitement on the coming Christmas day. But on the 22 night of December while UMCOR staff responds to the disaster brought about by Sendong (Washi), a different kind of ‘chill’ melted our hearts. While the rain was pouring in the middle of the night, survivors take their shelter in makeshift tents, under bridges and overpasses and park shelters. The streets of Cagayan De Oro are filled with survivors sleeping wherever they can find a little warmth and shelter. Their situation moved us to distribute blankets and mats in the wee hours of that dark and rainy day.

The disaster in southern Mindanao brought us to a deeper reflection on how we can celebrate Christmas in the middle of despair. Contrary to a commercialized and festive celebration, the story of Jesus’ birth shows us death of many children because of the desire of a leader to stay in power and a pregnant Mary without a place to stay in the night and to give birth. Just like the story of the first Christmas, the entire Filipino people and the world are grieving with the high number of deaths in Cagayan De Oro and Iligan City. And, like Mary, survivors will spend their Christmas in the makeshift homes in the streets.

Like the angels announcing hope for humankind, we can give hope to our people in southern Mindanao. Let us continue praying for them and let us do our share to help them in their situation. UMCOR will continue to BE THERE AND BE HOPE.


Ciony Eduarte is the manager of the UMCOR Philippines office in Manilla. 

Christmas Comes Early to Nigerian Village

In rural Nigeria, mothers await monthly medical attention for their children, many of whom are ill with malaria.
Photo: Nyamah Dunbar/UMCOR

By Nyamah Dunbar

Recently, I spent seven days with the Nigeria Rural Health Program, visiting remote villages in the northeastern region of Nigeria. It was enough to humble me to the challenges and to what it means to deliver services “where the road ends.” The health professionals who provide outreach and clinical services under extremely difficult conditions left me inspired by their sacrifice and recharged to continue working towards the targets set by the Imagine No Malaria Campaign.

The Nigeria Rural Health Program operates under the auspices of The United Methodist Church in Nigeria. It is located in Zing, a small, remote village in a large country that is home to nearly 120 million people. As the most populated nation in Africa, with nearly a third of the continent’s people, most of Africa’s malaria burden and the majority of its deaths occur in this West African country.

Nigeria is enormous in size, and any government would find it challenging to deliver services to these most rural of places that lack even basic roads, drinking water, or electricity. People still live in huts built in the mountains and drink from creeks.

In Zing, which is located in Taraba State, the effects of the Sahara desert and global warming can be felt directly through sweltering days, dust storms, and cool nights. During visits with the health outreach team, I watched mothers forge through a scorching day simply to make the one opportunity they would have in a month to meet with a health-care professional regarding their children’s illnesses.

Most of the women crammed into the village hall were pregnant or had young children. The main illness plaguing their children was malaria, or “high fever,” as they commonly refer to the killer disease.

Dickens, the outreach team’s nurse, expertly vaccinated and evaluated each pregnant woman and counseled the young mothers on the importance of taking children to the health center at the onset of fevers.

But there were other issues of concern to the parents, such as the cost of medication. Many rely on subsistence farming which translates into a loss of productivity if the mother has to travel the day’s journey to the health center. She may also have to sleep over with the sick baby—which again translates into more money that the family already lacks.

One mother explained to me with tears of frustration how she had visited another health center during her pregnancy, only to learn that they were out of medicines and supplies to properly treat her.

The story does end with good news. The Rural Health Program was the first to submit an application to the Imagine No Malaria campaign, which officially launched its call for proposals last October. Now it can obtain funds to purchase critical anti-malaria drugs; expand the overcrowded hospital ward, which houses men, women, and children together; and expand community outreach efforts to not simply screen mothers and babies within the rural villages, but train traditional midwives to serve as a link between the community and the health center.

As the villagers and staff, including the outreach nurse Dickens, heard the news, their faces lit up so brightly that you would have thought Christmas had already arrived three weeks early. Sure, the road ahead will be filled with great challenges as the denomination works to eliminate deaths due to malaria, but if I could have bottled up the sunshine on each of those faces and handed it to you as a Christmas present, I would not have hesitated for an instant. Merry Christmas!! May the journey begin!

Nyamah Dunbar is grants manager for UMCOR’s Malaria Initiative.

Helping Survivors of Tropical Storm Sendong



Photo of damage from Typhoon Sendong captured by an UMCOR volunteer yesterday.  Photo: UMCOR Philippines

A Student Volunteer's Reflection from the Philippines


Wednesday, December 21, 2011

I am not from Cagayan de Oro nor do I live near that city, but I still cannot help being affected emotionally by what happened to our sisters and brothers in Cagayan De Oro City and Iligan City. Watching the news really breaks my heart and I am grieving for these people.

It happened during the weekend while everyone was busy preparing for the coming holidays. Students were excited, it being the last day of classes. Parents were probably busy planning what gifts they would buy for their children. Families were busy planning for their Christmas break. Even offices and schools were busy planning for their Christmas parties. No one, not a soul, was prepared for a calamity that would surpass the death toll of Typhoon Ondoy two years ago.

The first image that I saw of the aftermath of the typhoon was when I logged into my Facebook account and a photo of a car on top of a gate caught my attention. Then streams of photos were shown online: of young children, young men, and old people meeting their cruel end because of the unexpected flash flood. A photo of a young father hugging his children until the hour of death really tugged at my heart.

Then came the day when I travelled to Cagayan de Oro, helping survivors of the calamity. My personal experience is nothing compared to the suffering the Kagayanons and people from some parts of Iligan suffered, including the loss of water--even in hotels. I became more aware of the impact of the typhoon when I joined the United Methodist Committee on Relief as a volunteer at Cagayan. Twenty-three barangays [villages] were reportedly affected by the typhoon due to the overflowing Cagayan River putting Iligan City and Cagayan de Oro City in a state of disaster. Nine families in Barangay Lambaguhon died because of the overflowing and fusing of two rivers. Indeed, the stories of death are simply terrifying and beyond comprehension, the devastation so shocking, and the grief so deep--especially in a time when we were supposed to have festivities. It is truly ironic.

But just as Noah’s rainbow from the Bible story, we have also seen rainbows after tropical storm Sendong. They come in the form of the immediate response of individuals, companies, advocacy groups, civic organizations, government institutions, churches, and more that have responded in many different ways. Help was not isolated from Mindanao, but came from the entire nation, from people of different walks of life.

How gratifying it is to know that we, as a nation, are ready to help our affected sisters and brothers instantly. Many organizations and offices have even donated their budgets for their Christmas parties to help the survivors, for they believe that the true meaning of Christmas is giving love to our sisters and brethren!

It is my fervent hope that we as Filipinos will continue to stand together and be united in helping each other, especially in times of calamities.

As of this moment, the survivors still need our help. They need water, food, clothing, and shelter. They need our support, so let us continue praying for them and responding to their needs. You can help by donating through UMCOR Philippines: UMCOR Advance #240235.


By Clinton Dy, an UMCOR Volunteer from PCU Soccer Team Varsity at Philippine Christian University.

  

Earlier this year, volunteers for UMCOR Philippines wade through Typhoon Negat flood waters to deliver relief supplies to affected families. Photo: UMCOR Philippines