Worldwide Activity Report -- July 1997
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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 and experiences, as reported by the Family members involved.

Humanitarian aid to a town in dire need
From Kate, 17, Novosibirsk, Russia
         Last year Faith Berg -- director of Project Aid Siberia and daughter of The Family's founder, David Brandt Berg (1919-1994) -- and other Family members -- secured 300 tons of humanitarian food aid in the US. Getting the goods to their destination and distributing them proved quite challenging -- but rewarding!
         One year, one ocean, one mountain range and miles of red tape later, the shipment arrived in Academ Gorodok, a town near the Siberian city of Novosibirsk. During the Soviet era, Academ Gorodok thrived as the site of a think tank for scientific projects, but with the breakdown of the Soviet Union and the present economic crisis in Russia, most of those programs have been terminated. The local economy is in a shambles, and tens of thousands struggle for survival.
         It took Family members and local volunteers three days to unload the five-boxcar shipment of rice, flour, beans and oil, and nearly two weeks to plan its distribution with representatives from the Social and Protection Agency.
         Nearly two-thirds of the aid was divided between 42 needy orphanages, hospitals and schools (about five tons each). The remaining 105 tons were moved to a makeshift distribution center in a former kindergarten, where Family volunteers personally distributed the goods to hundreds of hard-up families. The 25 Family members involved in the project also spent many hundreds of hours encouraging and providing Christian counseling to those who sought more than material assistance.
         Following are excerpts, translated from Russian, of several of the many letters of thanks The Family received from grateful recipients:

         I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to you who are helping us! God heard our prayers during this time when we are in such need. It is our hope that the future will bring better times. I thank God that there are people like you on this Earth, who remember the needy and reach out to help them.
-- Frida Koslova

         My family, along with all the Russian people who are in need here, thank you for the help you've brought to our country. I hope that when others of any nationality suffer difficult times, as we do now, our people will respond to their need as you have to ours.
-- G. Matrikovky

         There was no more food in the house, and we didn't have any money to buy more. I prayed to God that He would provide for us and our children, and the next day we received your invitation to pick up this God-sent manna.
-- Anonymous

         The goal of your humanitarian aid project -- to feed us not only physically but also spiritually, by taking time to talk with us and to listen to our heartcries -- is exactly what we needed. My son Alexandre and I want to thank all of you who sacrificially give yourselves to serve the poor and needy people of Academ Gorodok.
-- Liza and Alexandre

New horizons for children with special needs
From Simon, India
         When the principal of one of India's most progressive schools for mentally handicapped children asked The Family to help a group of Down's syndrome children learn to perform musically, some of our teenage members took up the challenge.
         Although the Down's syndrome children do not possess full use of their faculties, they are becoming very good dancers. Our teens have already taught them simple steps to a Family-composed children song, "Be a Friend."
         We have a great time with these kids, as they are uncomplicated and respond beautifully to affection and personal attention. They really are "special" children!

Brighter futures for single mothers
From Magdalene, Italy
         For over a year we have offered friendship and counsel to single mothers at a home which is run by an order of Catholic nuns. Most of the young mothers have been abandoned by their families and friends, and some of the women were living on the street with their babies before the nuns took them in.
         It's been wonderful to see these young women gain confidence and self-esteem, learn to relate to and enjoy their children, and just plain be happy!
         When the director of the home, Sister Giovanna, was transferred recently, she made a special point to encourage us to continue our visits after she was gone.
         "You can't abandon these girls!" she told us. "You've done more to help them spiritually and emotionally in a few months than we did in the previous six years!"

Medical aid update
From Tito, a medical doctor who works as a full-time Family volunteer, Peru
         As reported in The Family's Worldwide Activity Report of April 1997, we conduct a medical aid project in the Rocchac district of Huancavelica, a poor community in the Peruvian Andes where half of the school-age population suffer from massive parasitism, and one in ten has tuberculosis.
         At a recent meeting with national Ministry of Health officials, we explained the community's plight. As a result, the district's health center received 4,000 courses of anti-parasite treatment and an array of much needed medical and surgical equipment. We also found a private sponsor who gave $1,000 to be used for more medical equipment for the health center.
         We face an uphill struggle in helping raise the health standard of this community of 5,000, but these donations will enable us to take big steps forward!

Love lightens the way for Kurdish refugees
From Simon and Renee, Greece
         Several months ago we learned that a government camp for Kurdish refugees was slated for possible closure, and that the two international relief organizations that had been involved had withdrawn their support. The already dismal conditions at the camp were deteriorating quickly. We visited the camp, hoping to find a way to be of some help.
         The site -- a defunct children's summer camp -- could not properly house the 600 refugees. There were shortages of tents, cooking fuel, sanitation facilities, food and medicine. The camp's electrical circuits were severely overloaded, so power failures happened routinely. In short, none of the refugees' basic needs were being adequately met.
         We found not one but three ways in which we could help -- initiatives which we continue during our twice-a-week visits.
         First, we set out to help improve the nutritional standard. Through the generous giving of local bakeries and produce wholesalers, we now help supply the camp with fresh bread, fruit and vegetables. It's only a start, but it is a start. We continue to seek new sponsors for this relief project.
         Second, we promote community spirit and encourage the refugees to help themselves. We persuaded the two doctors among them to set up their own free clinic, which is now open daily. Simon, who is a nurse, sometimes helps with first aid and checkups during our visits. We have arranged donations of medicine to the clinic, and free hospital care for some people whose ailments required outside help. Working with the governing committee of Kurds, the Greek administrator of the camp and other volunteers, we also helped organize the teachers, electricians and cooks, and set up a sanitation department.
         Third, our two daughters, teenage Natalie and preteen Marie, lead weekly activities with the 100 children which include stories, coloring, games and community service. -- All are aimed at helping the children experience some of the simple joys that children in normal situations do, while teaching them to get along and work together to make the most of their difficult circumstances.
         Sometimes it seems an impossible task for a family of four to make a lasting difference in the lives of 600 refugees, but the spoken and unspoken thanks we receive from these humble, sweet people tells us otherwise. Little is much if God's love is in it!
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         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:



Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family